Wings
by byanothername7
Summary: Cat and Jade have been best friends since middle school, and neither one of them can imagine life without the other. They've been there for each other through everything they could possibly imagine, but neither one of them ever imagined that something like this would happen. Cade friendship, Bade romance. Slightly OOC at times, but only at times.
1. Prologue: A Great Wide World

_They're sixteen and adulthood still feels worlds away._

"Jade?"

Cat's voice is soft and quiet as she speaks into the almost silent bedroom. It's close to four in the morning and her best friend is fast asleep in her bed next to her, the result of their almost-monthly sleepover, but she can't seem to fall asleep. Every law of nature says that she should be exhausted by now, she had gotten up for school around twenty-two hours prior and stayed up well after midnight watching movies, but sleep just won't come.

"Jade?" She says again, a little louder this time, as she nudges her friend awake "Jade, wake up."

"What do you want, Cat?" Jade groans, pulling a pillow over her head and rolling to the side "I'm sleeping."

Jade West wouldn't admit that she 'loves' many things. She loves her boyfriend, Beck Oliver, that's no secret to anyone. She loves Cat Valentine, in the way that best friends do. She even loves her family, although it might be harder to get her to confess to that. But she _really_ loves to sleep, and she _hates_ when her sleep is interrupted by anything or anyone. Even if it's someone she loves.

"I know you are, but it's an emergency."

"Someone had better be dead or dying..." Jade sighs, rolling over to face her friend "What's wrong?"

"You're my best friend, right?" Cat asks her "And you're always going to be my best friend?"

"Jesus Christ, GOODNIGHT." Jade rolls her eyes, attempting to roll over and face the other direction once more

"No Jadey, I'm serious!" Cat grabs her friend's arm

'Jadey' was a nickname that Jade absolutely despised, but one that she would allow Cat, and only Cat, to use. It had started in elementary school, and much to Jade's dismay, she had never grown out of it.

"If I answer you, can I go back to sleep?"

"Probably."

"Of course you're my best friend." Jade assures her, propping her head up on her arm "And I'll never go anywhere. I read this thing online one time that said after you've been friends with someone for seven years, your friendship is basically cemented forever."

Hearing that, especially coming from Jade's mouth, makes Cat smile. They've known each other for eight years now, which is basically half their lives. They had gone to different elementary schools, but met through local community theater. From their first production they had been absolutely inseparable, which their mothers found to be odd seeing as they were so different, but their friendship was genuine and anyone could easily see so. Both girls had attended the same junior high school and made the decision to audition for Hollywood Arts, and thankfully they both got in. One might say the rest is history, but it's really not. They're juniors now, with their whole lives ahead of them still.

"Even when you and Beck are married with a thousand babies?"

"A thousand?" Jade laughs "Well, I don't know about that. But yes, even when I'm grown up and married and maybe if I have kids, I'll still be your best friend. As long as you promise that you'll always be _my_ best friend."

"I promise." Cat smiles, holding her pinky up

The two girls each wrap their pinkies around the other, before laughing a bit and laying down flat on their backs again.

"Goodnight, Jadey." Cat says into the dark room "I love you."

"I love you too, Cat." Jade tells her "Goodnight."

* * *

_They're eighteen and the world feels like it's falling apart._

Colleges in different states hadn't seemed like _that_ big of a deal when the time came to make their commitments. They had all summer to prepare for the fact that for the first time in what feels like forever they wouldn't be seeing one another every single day.

Cat had opted to stay home and attend UCLA, it was more cost efficient and the drama program is one of the best in the state. But Jade, she's going all the way to NYU. There's nothing wrong with California, hell it's the place to be if you want to make it in the entertainment business so there's not a doubt in her mind that she'll come back as soon as she graduates, but she's lived in the same city her whole life. She wants something different. And for actors and singers and everyone of the sort, New York City is the best place to be next to Los Angeles.

"Thanksgiving is only like...three months away." Jade says, sounding braver than she feels as she packs the last of her bags into the back of her mom's car "And FaceTime is a thing. We'll still talk all the time, it will be okay."

"Yeah..." Cat says softly, kicking at a rock on the ground

They both know that for the first few weeks, it won't be okay. They'll be adjusting to college life, and meeting new people, and missing each other like crazy.

"I'll take good care of her, babe." Beck Oliver grins, throwing an arm around Cat's shoulders and pulling her into an almost headlock "Don't worry."

He also chose to stay in Los Angeles, although college isn't in his plans. He wants to be an actor, and he feels the best preparation for that comes from real life experiences and the occasional workshop. It certainly doesn't come from sitting in a desk for eighteen hours a week and stressing out over term papers. Not that he has anything against those who pursue an arts education, that's what all of his friends and his girlfriend are doing. He just doesn't feel it's for him. So, he's going to find a part time job to keep him busy while he waits for his big break, which he prays is right around the corner.

"Let me go, you weirdo." Cat laughs, wiggling free from Beck's grip "We all know _I'm_ going to be the one keeping an eye on _you_."

"You'll both look out for each other." Jade says "And it will put my mind at ease."

"C'mon, kiddo." Jade's step-dad calls out to her, catching the car keys as his wife tosses them over to him "If we miss our flight, we'll have to drive. And _no one_ wants that to happen."

"Be there in a minute." Jade nods to him, before turning back to her best friend and boyfriend "Well..."

"I'll go." Beck steps towards her, sensing that it will be harder on Cat to say goodbye "I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?"

A benefit of not being tied down to collegiate education is that he can fly out to visit her whenever he pleases, which he'll do for the first time about a month or so into her semester. He wants to give her time to settle in, and it was the cheapest airfare weekend.

"I'll miss you." She says, resting her forehead against his "Don't go chasing after any new girls while I'm gone, okay?"

"Wouldn't even dream of it." Beck assures her "Go do great things, okay? I love you."

"I love you too." She tells him, before kissing him like it will be their last kiss for years, not just weeks

It's Jade's mother who finally clears her throat and brings the couple back to reality. After an embarrassed 'sorry', Jade turns to Cat.

"Just a phone call away." She reminds her, brushing a tear from her eye

"Is Jade West crying?" Cat gasps

"I don't have to say goodbye to you." Jade reminds her "I'll just get in the car."

"But you won't."

"You're right, I won't." Jade nods "I...I don't really know what else to say, though. I love you, Cat. You know that don't you?"

"I do." Cat nods "And you know that I love you too, right?"

"Like you'd ever let me forget." Jade chuckles "Gimme hug."

The two girls embrace one another longer than they ever have. Eventually Jade is the one to break the hug, muttering more 'I love you's to both Cat and Beck before climbing into the back of the car.

She waves goodbye as her step-dad backs out of the driveway and starts the car down the street. More tears slide down her face and land on her lap as the two people she cares about the most become smaller and smaller in the distance, until they disappear altogether.

* * *

_They're twenty-one and life is good._

Well, at least it is for Jade. Normally Cat would also agree, but tonight has been...an experience.

"You're the best friend I've ever had..." Jade slurs, smiling as she cups Cat's face in her hands "...you know that?"

"I know that, Jade." Cat nods "You've only told me thirty times in the past hour."

It's Jade's twenty-first birthday, and Beck is away filming a movie, so Cat had taken it upon herself to make sure her best friend had a memorable night. Unfortunately, she's not really sure Jade is going to remember any of it. She's seen her drunk before, Cat doesn't know a single college student who hasn't been drunk at least once before it was legal for them to be, but this drunk is a whole new level for Jade.

"Remind her of this tomorrow when she tries to rip your eyes out for letting her get this bad." Cat's boyfriend, Robbie Shapiro, chuckles from the front seat

He had agreed to be their sober-driver for the evening, so that both girls could enjoy themselves and celebrate. However, Cat had been too worried about Jade for most of the evening to even get past feeling buzzed.

"I tried to warn her. Several times." Cat reminds him "But what college kid is going to turn down a free drink if someone offers to pay?"

And when it's your twenty-first birthday, someone always offers to pay. Even strangers at a bar who have never met you before. It's all 'part of the experience'.

"Right." Robbie smirks

He had gone to high school with both of them, in fact they had been in the same friend group. He had always tried flirting with Cat, and occasionally she would flirt back, but it never went anywhere. At least not until they both ended up at the same college and were spending a lot more one-on-one time together. They were officially a couple by Christmas of their freshman year, and Cat's parents couldn't have been more thrilled. Robbie was smart, he was pre-law, he was a gentlemen, and they loved him. Jade and Beck both admitted it took the couple way longer to get together than either of them had anticipated, both thought it would happen back in high school. Cat didn't mind the teasing, Robbie made her the happiest.

Robbie pulls his car into the driveway at Jade's mom's house and cuts the engine, climbing out to assist his girlfriend in getting her friend inside.

"This looks like my house!" Jade says excitedly

"This _is_ your house, boozey." Cat chuckles, draping one of Jade's arms around her shoulders "Can you get her other arm?"

"Absolutely." Robbie nods, positioning Jade's other arm around his shoulders as well "Do you have a key?"

"It won't be locked." Cat assures him "Her parents won't go to sleep without her coming home or getting a text message that she's sleeping somewhere else."

Sure enough, the front door is unlocked. Cat is able to use her free hand to push it open and the three of them stumble inside.

"I'M HOME!" Jade announces, seemingly to no one

"Jade! Shut up!"

"Good lord..." Her mother sighs, appearing in the doorway at the end of the hall "Is she...?"

"Oh yes." Cat laughs "We'll get her in bed and be on our way, don't worry. C'mon, Jade. Upstairs."

Cat isn't sure she could have gotten Jade upstairs if it hadn't been for Robbie. Jade is shaky on her feet and keeps collapsing onto the stairs in a fit of giggles, which is a for-sure sign that she's drunk because Jade West is _not_ a giggly person. Robbie has to basically pull the girl up the stairs, and she ends up crawling into her bedroom on her own once they reach the top.

"Do you think she's good on her own?" Robbie asks, flinching as he hears something in Jade's bedroom fall to the floor

"Absolutely not." Cat laughs "I'm...I think I'll stay here with her tonight. She's going to need someone to help her get into bed...and then out of bed tomorrow."

"Alright." Robbie chuckles, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." Cat nods "I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell."

"I'm sure you will." He smiles, turning to go back downstairs "Try to enjoy the rest of your evening, I love you."

"I love you too." Cat grins "Thank you for driving us around."

* * *

_They're twenty-four and high school feels like a lifetime ago._

Jade and Beck are newly married, and taking the entertainment business by storm. Beck has starred in his fair share of blockbusters by now, and never has a hard time finding steady work. Jade took a bit longer to find her success, taking a role in a play here and there after college before finally catching her big break and landing a supporting role on a TV drama about a year prior. She's in talks with show creators about the possibility of her directing an episode some time in the near future, and is working on a manuscript of her own. It might turn into a play, it might turn into a movie, it might not turn into anything at all. She's still not sure.

Unfortunately, Cat hasn't had the same success in the industry as her friends have. She ended up swapping her theater major for a minor, and majored in music business instead. She works an office job at a record label in Los Angeles, and sings in a hotel lounge on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays to keep some extra cash coming in. It's not ideal, but it works for the time being. She hasn't had a whole lot of luck in the love department either, having split from Robbie just under a month ago. He was too focused on law school and not enough on his relationships with those around him. Cat didn't care if he wanted to blow his friends off, but she wasn't going to be swept under the rug like that. Not when she's been so supportive of him and gotten almost nothing in return. They fought an awful lot before they broke up with Cat finally being the one to say that he needed to meet her half way, she wasn't coming all the way to him. She moved out of the apartment they had been sharing and back into her bedroom at her parent's house until she could find something more permanent.

Both Cat and Jade are both still very present and very involved in each other's lives, just as they promised they always would be. Cat had been Jade's maid of honor, and when the day comes...Cat plans to ask Jade to be her's as well. They speak every day, whether it be over text, on the phone, or in person. There isn't anything that one wouldn't do for the other...and that includes tagging along to doctor's appointments.

Or in this case, a trip to urgent care.

"It's not that big of a deal, stop freaking out." Cat says to Jade as a nurse finishes inserting an IV into her arm "Thank you."

"We'll hopefully have those test results back for you soon." The nurse smiles to her before leaving the room

"If it's not a big deal, why did they take like a quart of blood from you and hook you up to an IV?" Jade sighs, gesturing to the IV bag "They don't just hand these out for fun."

"Because I'm dehydrated, it's just fluids." Cat reminds her "It's not like they're trying to prep me for a life-saving operation or anything like that."

Cat had been violently throwing up on and off for the past three days or so. She had started to feel light-headed, mostly because she couldn't keep anything in her system, and called her doctor to see what they suggested. Of course they had wanted her to go straight to the nearest urgent care, and both of her parents had left for work for the day, so she called Jade in hopes that she would have the day off from filming. And she did. Her best friend showed up to her house in a baseball hat and sunglasses, ready to take her wherever she needed to go.

"Bloodwork never means anything good."

"They're checking my iron levels, oh my god." Cat rolls her eyes "Sit down, Jade. You're stressing me out."

"Sorry." Jade apologizes, sitting down in the chair next to her "You know how I feel about doctor's offices."

"It's alright." Cat reaches out and takes her hand "Thanks for coming with me."

"Anything for you." Jade smirks "You know that."

There's a knock on the door and a doctor enters within seconds. He's tall with dark hair, and quite handsome by Cat's standards. If she wasn't feeling so awful, she might even consider flirting with him.

"I take it you're Cat?" He says with a warm smile, grabbing the stool from the desk beside the examination table and sitting down

"That's me." She nods "Did the test results come back?"

"They did." He nods "And the good news is, nothing out of the ordinary is going on here."

"Oh okay, good." Cat smiles "That's good."

"But there is something going on, isn't there?" Jade asks him "I mean, she wouldn't be here if there wasn't."

"Jade..."

"Sorry."

"All is well." The doctor assures them both "It's just standard morning sickness."

"Morning...I'm sorry what?"

"You're pregnant, Cat." The doctor smiles "Congratulations."

"Ohhhh of course I am." Cat sighs rubbing her temples "That's just what I need right now."

"Hey." Jade grabs her friend's arm "It's alright, you've got me, you've got Beck, you've got your parents...most importantly you have options."

"I'll give you a moment." The doctor says, standing up to leave the room "I'll leave your paperwork at the desk, along with a referral for an OBGYN."

"Thank you, doctor." Jade thanks him as he leaves "Hey, you okay?"

"Just...processing." Cat nods "Of course this would happen to me now, of course it would! As if the past month hadn't been bad enough..."

"Is it..."

"Is it what?"

"Robbie's?"

"Of course it's Robbie's!" Cat exclaims "Oh god, now I have to talk to _him _again."

The breakup had been messy, both of them had said they never wanted to see the other again. Cat had cried over it for almost a week before snapping herself back to reality.

"Technically, you don't have to..."

"I have to." Cat shakes her head "I know there's an easy way out of this...but I can't. I just can't bring myself to do that. And I'd never want to carry a child inside of me for so long only to have it raised by strangers...I'm...having a kid. And that's the end of that."

"Alright." Jade says quietly, squeezing her friend's hand "Well, I'll here every step of the way."

"You better be." Cat manages to crack a smile "Best friends forever, right?"

"Forever and always."

* * *

**So this chapter was obnoxiously long and I apologize. They aren't all going to be _quite_ this long, I promise. Like I said, I know this one was a lot but I wanted to use it as a prologue to kind of set everything else up. I'm not quite sure how long this is going to be, right now I'm aiming for 10-15 chapters but don't hold me to that. I hope everyone enjoyed this beginning and I look forward to getting the rest of this written for you! **


	2. Cold Shoulders

Of all the ways Cat could have pictured herself spending a Friday afternoon, visiting her ex-boyfriend was certainly not on the list.

"It'll be fine..." She singsongs to herself as she steps out of her car and slams the door shut behind her

It had been about three and a half weeks since she and Robbie had broken up, and about three since she last saw him when she had moved out of their shared apartment for good. But now she's back at her old building, dreading the upcoming conversation more and more with every step that she takes. He has no idea that she's coming, the last time they spoke they both said they never wanted to see the other again. This was going to complicate that, obviously.

She's feeling better, at least. Having been to a legitimate OBGYN and starting on some prenatal vitamins has left her in much better condition than she had been in when she visited urgent care. She's seven weeks, and she can't stop thinking about the sonogram picture tucked away in her bag.

The apartment building is a small one, only three floors with no elevator. After walking up the first flight of stairs and arriving on the second floor, Cat takes her time meandering down the hallway until she finally stops in front of the door that used to belong to her. She knocks, which is strange because she used to be able to come and go whenever she pleased, and for a moment begins to think that Robbie may not be home. She's just about to turn away when the door swings open.

"It's about ti- oh." Robbie sighs, a disappointed look on his face "You're not the pizza guy."

"No..." Cat rocks back and forth on her toes "I'm not."

"Well." He shrugs "I was going to mail these but since you're here..."

He reaches next to him and picks up a cardboard box full of things Cat must have forgotten when she moved out. They're all useless things, really. A pair of flip flops, an old textbook from college, and a reusable water bottle are among the miscellaneous possessions.

"Uh, thanks." Cat says, rummaging around in the box a bit "But-"

"If that's all you came for then I'll see you around I guess." Robbie tells her, beginning to close the door

"No wait!" She sticks her hand in the way to stop him "This isn't why I came."

"Why did you come then?" He asks her, looking annoyed

"I..." She begins "It's important. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Whatever." He pushes the door open, turning to walk back into the apartment

Cat follows him and closes the door behind her, setting the box of her things down at her feet before setting her bag down as well.

"Are you moving?" She asks him, noticing the presence of several other cardboard boxes around the small living room

"I am, yeah." He nods "Not that it's any of your business, but I got a job with a firm out in Boston."

"Boston..." She says surprised "Wow."

That's certainly not going to make this situation any easier.

"I'm really looking forward to it." Robbie tells her "Now, why the hell are you here?

"I'm pregnant." Cat blurts out

That wasn't at all how she planned to tell him. She was going to ease him into it, make it seem like less of a shock. But _she _was shocked. He's moving all the way across the country. How the hell do you make a custody agreement work when both parents are living on separate coasts?

"Wh-what?" He stammers out as the color drains from his face

"It's okay, it's okay." Cat grabs his arm and helps him to the couch "Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are."

"And..." Robbie gulps, looking her directly in the eye "And its mine?"

"Of course it's your's."

"Fuck..." Robbie runs a hand through his hair, still looking pale "What are you going to do with it?"

"Well, I was going to keep it." Cat almost laughs "I hadn't really anticipated you moving across the country, but I'm sure we can figure something out. I'm seven we-"

"I don't want to work something out." Robbie cuts her off, standing up and walking into the kitchen

"I'm sorry?"

"I don't want it, Cat." He tells her "If you want to keep it, that's fine...I guess. But I don't want it. Boston is supposed to be a chance for me to make a fresh start. I can't bring any baggage with me."

"It's not baggage, Robbie. It's your _child_."

"Cat, I think you should go..." Robbie says quietly, looking down at his feet

"Fine, I'll go." She nods, standing up and walking back over to retrieve her bag and the box of her things

She knows better than to force him. If anything she's praying that some time to process things will help him change his mind.

"When do you leave for Boston?"

"Two weeks..."

"Alright, well...I'm staying at my parent's house right now, and my number is still the same..." Cat tells Robbie "I'm not going to force you to to do anything you don't want to do...but I'm begging you to reconsider."

* * *

Cat had cried for hours after returning home from visiting Robbie that afternoon. Her parents, who were aware of the situation by now, were heartbroken for her. Both of them had expected more from Robbie, and Cat admitted that she had too. They begged her to take the night off work, but Cat knew that she couldn't. She had a baby on the way, she was going to be a single parent, she needed the money.

Her heart dropped into her stomach when a large manila envelope addressed to her arrived in the mail about a week later. There were legal documents inside; Robbie had surrendered all of his parental rights to her. All she has to do is sign the paperwork and file it when the baby is born.

"I can't believe this..." Jade shakes her head, looking at the paperwork on the counter in front of her "You're not really going to sign these, are you?"

"I think I am..." Cat sighs

"Cat."

"What am I supposed to do? Force him to play a role in the kid's life?" Cat asks her "I don't know about you, but I'd rather have one parent who loves me unconditionally than have two and have to spend half my time with one who doesn't love me."

"This is so fucked up..."

"Law school changed him..." Beck adds, reaching in front of his wife to pick up one of the documents "He thinks he's better than all of us now."

"I know it did..." Cat nods, looking down at her hands "He's not the same Robbie I fell in love with...maybe this is for the best."

"I'm so sorry, Cat." Jade sighs, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders and pulling her close "This is so horrible."

"I'll be alright..." Cat shrugs, a small smile appearing on her face "I have my parents, and I have you guys."

"You'll always have us." Jade assures her as Beck nods in agreement "And so will that baby. No matter what."

"I know." Cat smiles, leaning her head against Jade "And that means so much."

"Can I see the sonogram again?"

"Yeah." Cat chuckles "It's in my purse."

Jade had already seen the sonogram, multiple times in fact. Cat had texted her a picture as soon as it had been printed after her doctor's appointment, and then in person a few days later. But she loves to look at it. She loves to see the picture of the little life her best friend is responsible for, that she's growing all on her own. It's amazing. She can't wait to spoil the hell out of her little niece or nephew.

Beck also thinks it's amazing, although at this point he feels disappointed in Robbie more than anything. How could he just walk away from his own flesh and blood like that? Without even giving it a second thought? The Robbie he befriended in high school, hell the Robbie he knew a year ago, never would have done something like that.

"I'll let you two have some girl time." Beck says to Cat and Jade as he approaches his wife "I have a few errands to run."

"Alright." Jade smirks, giving him a quick peck on the lips "Be safe, I love you."

"I love you too." He smiles at her, before leaving the kitchen

Beck and Jade have both been very fortunate in their careers, especially being so young. They have a nice house in a great neighborhood, nice cars, and can live comfortably. Beck tries to keep as much normalcy in his life as possible though, and opts to drive himself most places unless it really can't be avoided. He climbs into his car and starts the engine, backing down the drive and out onto the street.

His gut tells him he's making a bad decision, that what he's about to do could come back to haunt him in the future, but his head and his heart are telling him otherwise. Cat has been such a great friend to his wife her entire life, especially when he's away filming on location and Jade has to stay in LA. Not to mention the fact that she's been a great friend to him too. There's not a doubt in his mind that there isn't a single thing Cat Valentine wouldn't do for him or Jade if they asked...honestly, they probably wouldn't even have to ask, Cat has a way of just knowing things.

So he has to do this for her.

He knows the way to Robbie's apartment like the back of his hand. Robbie was one of his best friends, at least he was for the time-being, and when Cat had lived there too both he and Jade had been frequent visitors. So he has no trouble at all finding the apartment when he arrives. After knocking a few times, he steps back away from the door and waits for an answer.

"Hey, Beck." Robbie smiles when he opens the door "I've been meaning to text you."

"Can I come in?" Beck asks him

"Of course." Robbie stands out of the way to let his friend in "I'm sorry I've kinda dropped off the grid, there's been a lot going on."

"Boston?" Beck raises an eyebrow at him, eyeing the stacks of boxes scattered throughout the room "I heard."

"Cat told you about that, huh?" Robbie looks down at his feet "I was going to try and set up dinner with you and Jade before I left...I swear. I'm sorry."

"I get it, dude. Life happens, it's okay." Beck assures him "That's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here, then?" Robbie asks, even though he's pretty sure he already knows the answer

"How can you just walk away from your own kid like this, man?" Beck shakes his head "Especially after everything you went through in high school?"

Robbie's father left his mother when he was fifteen, and Robbie hadn't heard from him since. To say that it was hard on him would have been an understatement. Their entire friend group had tried to be there for him in whatever ways they could, and after a while it got better. Obviously Robbie's life never went back to the way it was before, but he had learned to live with the decision that his father made.

"That's why I'm doing it." Robbie says flatly "Cat and I don't work anymore, we'll be living on different sides of the country. Do you know how hard that would be? How can I hurt my kid if it never knows I exist in the first place? I know Cat, she'll find someone who will be able to do a better job than me, anyways."

"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard." Beck snaps "You and Cat could find a way to make something work, and you know it."

"I don't want to be with Cat anymore!"

"No one is saying you have to be with her, we're just begging you not to walk out on your kid!" Beck exclaims "Holy shit, Rob!"

"This job is important to me, Beck. It's my future." Robbie tells him "I want a fresh start, and I can't do that with a kid!"

"I don't know what alien has taken over your body, but you're not the Robbie I used to know." Beck shakes his head, starting for the door "That Robbie would never put a job in front of his friends, or his _family_."

"Cat isn't my family!"

"She's your child's mother!"

"It's not my child!" Robbie reminds him "I sorted out all the paperwork."

"Right, yeah. Mr. Big Shot Lawyer." Beck rolls his eyes "I should beat the shit out of you, do you know that?"

"You won't touch me. I could sue you for everything that both you and Jade are worth, and you know it." Robbie scoffs "Why do you even care so much? This doesn't effect you!"

"She's my wife's best friend." Beck says flatly, irritated that Robbie had brought Jade into the conversation in the first place "She's _my_ friend! When Cat's upset, so is Jade. You of all people should know that already. Those two are inseparable. They always have been, they always will be. So don't worry, Robbie. We'll fill the void, we'll make sure that baby gets a million times more love from us that it ever would have gotten from you."

"Beck-"

"Shut up." Beck snaps "You're fucking ridiculous. And as far as I'm concerned, you're not my friend anymore, either. Have a nice life, Mr. Big Shot."


	3. An Extra Pair of Hands

Much to her surprise, Cat's parents are more supportive of her than anyone would have ever expected them to be. Both Tom and Julie Valentine were very traditional people and Cat was terrified to tell them that she had gotten pregnant before she was married, especially because she wasn't even with the baby's father anymore. But they didn't freak out, they didn't kick her out of the house. They seemed a bit disappointed in her, which was fair because even Cat was a bit disappointed in herself, but they said they would support whatever choice that she decided to make.

Both of them agreed that given their daughter's situation, adoption would be the most logical course of action. But when she tells them that she wants to keep the baby and raise it herself, they are both admittedly a bit excited. They had been a bit older than most people are when they decided to have their own children, and the thought of actually being alive to see their first grandchild be born warmed their hearts. Tom had encountered some health problems as of late, so both he and his wife know it is important to cherish opportunities like this when they come around.

Cat is so eternally grateful for all of the love she receives from everyone around her who loves her. Deep down in her heart she knows that even if everyone turned against her for doing so, she would still want to keep her baby. She already loves it more than she could ever imagine loving anyone ever. But between the support from her parents, and from Beck and Jade, she feels as if she isn't even doing it alone. Her and her baby are so loved by so many people her heart could burst.

She never finds out that Beck went to confront Robbie that night; neither of the men bring it up to her. Jade never finds out either, at least to the full extent. She asks her husband about a week or so after it happens if he has spoken to Robbie at all, and he tells her that he has. He explains that he and Robbie are no longer on speaking terms but doesn't go into any more detail than that, and Jade can tell that it upsets him so she doesn't push him.

When Cat is roughly four and a half months pregnant, Beck gets cast in a movie that requires him to be on location filming in New Zealand for six weeks. The part is a great opportunity for him and has an almost guarantee of a sequel if all goes well so although Jade is upset they'll have to spend so much time apart, she can't be really all _that_ upset. Beck tries to convince her to make plans to fly out and visit him for a few days during filming but due to her own filming schedule for her TV show, she knows she won't be able to make it work. Jade assures him that she'll be fine, that she'll have work to keep her busy and Cat will be around to keep her company. He knows she's right.

"God, Meryl Streep is everything I aspire to be and more..." Jade sighs, grabbing the television remote off of her bedside table and switching it off

The room falls dark, with the only illumination coming from Cat's phone as it lights up her face. Jade had convinced her to spend the night tonight, and the two of them were currently laying in Beck and Jade's bed, having just finished watching Florence Foster Jenkins. Their night had been filled with typical sleepover activities: movies, mani/pedis, junk food (selected according to Cat's cravings), and now staying up way too late. It felt so familiar to both of them, it felt like high school.

"One day there will be some twenty-something up and coming actress laying in bed with her best friend saying 'God, Jade West is everything I aspire to be and more'. Just wait." Cat tells her

"Jade West Oliver." Jade corrects her

Legally, her name is Jade Oliver. That's what her driver's license and all of her legal documents say. But by the time she and Beck had gotten married, she already had a few acting credits under her belt as Jade West, one of which included the first season of the TV show she's currently working on. So professionally, she's known as Jade West Oliver.

"Yeah, yeah." Cat chuckles, laying down on her side to face her friend "You get my point."

"I'm not the next Meryl." Jade sighs "There isn't one, no one can top her."

"You might not be the next Meryl, but you can certainly be the first Jade." Cat reminds her

"I love you." Jade grins "Maybe one day you can be the Cher to my Meryl."

"Maybe." Cat laughs "I think I have some stuff I need to worry about first though before I can start worrying about a career in Hollywood."

"Yeah, how's Squirt doin' in there anyways?"

"Squirt is great." Cat smiles at the mention of her baby "Wanna feel something cool?"

"Always."

Cat moves the blankets back a bit on the bed and grabs her friend's hand, pressing it to her baby bump, that is growing more and more every day, and applying just the slightest bit of pressure right about where her appendix is. Jade knows exactly what she is waiting for, but she's still amazed when she feels something inside of Cat brush up against her hand.

"Oh my god!" She exclaims "When did that start?"

"Yesterday." Cat giggles, rubbing her stomach a bit "Weird isn't it?"

"Yeah." Jade agrees "But it's the coolest kind of weird. Was that a hand or a foot do you think?"

"I'm pretty sure it was a foot." Cat tells her

"There's really a baby in there..."

"Yeah." Cat laughs "I'm not just getting fat for no reason."

"Oh come on, you know what I mean."

"I know, I know."

"Can I feel again?" Jade asks

"Of course." Cat laughs, taking her hand once again "I'm sure all of the ice cream we ate will have this one more than active tonight."

"When do you get to find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

"At my appointment next week." Cat grins "You have to come with me."

"Cat, I'm booked solid filming next week," Jade frowns ",remember?"

"You really can't get away?"

"Not if we want to keep up with our production schedule." Jade sighs "Maybe you can FaceTime me in?"

"Promise me you'll answer?"

"Of course." Jade assures her "I wouldn't miss out on that."

* * *

"Wait hang on." Jade says to Cat as she answers her FaceTime call "Let me get somewhere quieter."

"Jade I-"

"I said hang on!" Jade tells her, making her way back to her dressing room and closing the door behind her "Okay, we've got about eight to ten minutes before they figure out I'm not on set anymore."

"The umbilical cord is wrapped between its legs." Cat says flatly

"What?"

"The umbilical cord." Cat repeats "It's wrapped between the baby's legs, they can't get a clear picture of anything down there."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." A voice from the background of Cat's end of the call says, Jade assumes it must be the ultrasound technician

"So, what does that mean exactly then?"

"It means I won't know if the baby is a boy or a girl until it's born." Cat explains

"Aw, Cat. I'm so sorry." Jade sighs

She knows how much Cat was looking forward to finding out if the baby was a boy or a girl. She had already purchased a crib, which is currently sitting in its box unassembled in the corner of her room, but was ready to start looking for more gender specific things like clothing, blankets, and bedding. Not knowing will obviously make that a lot harder. Cat's entire pregnancy was the definition of unexpected, and Jade just wishes that one thing could go according to plan for her friend.

"It'll be alright." Cat shrugs "I guess the universe just has one more surprise in store for me."

"I guess so." Jade chuckles "Hey, why don't you come down to set and hang out for a little while?"

"Jade-"

"C'mon Cat, please?" Jade begs "You haven't been down here in months and I haven't seen you all week. Plus, it's a free meal in the catering trailer."

There's no better catering than the catering that comes from Hollywood soundstages.

"...alright fine." Cat smirks "You got me at free food. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Alright, see you then." Jade smiles "Love you."

"Yeah yeah, love you too."

"Jade?" There's a knock at the door to her dressing room "Are you in there? They need you on set."

"Out in a minute, Em!" Jade calls out to her assistant, Emily "Had to take a phone call!"

She plugs her phone into the charging port on her end table and retreats back to set. The scene she has to film isn't really anything exciting this time, her character and her fiancé are walking out of a cafe, saying goodbye, kissing, and going their separate ways. In reality, it will be a thirty to forty second scene when the episode airs, but it will take them forty-five minutes to an hour to film. When the director finally gets all of the shots that she wants, Jade is sent back to her dressing room with a new outfit to change into, and an order to be in the makeup trailer in about forty-five minutes so that they can change her hair and makeup and get her ready for her next scene.

Jade isn't surprised to find Cat sitting on the couch in her dressing room when she returns, but she is surprised to see her own phone in the hands of her best friend. She's even more surprised to see her husband's face lighting up the screen.

"Jadey!" Cat smiles when she enters "Hi!"

"Hey." Jade laughs "What are you two up to? Gossiping about me?"

"Always." Beck says

"Beck called while you were on set." Cat explains "I was just explaining the whole debacle with the baby. And passing time waiting for you to get back."

"Well I'm back now." Jade takes the phone from her and sits down on the couch as well "Hi baby."

"Hi." Beck grins "You look gorgeous today."

"It's amazing what an hour in hair and makeup will do for a gal." Jade chuckles "How's New Zealand?"

"Still cold." Beck sighs

It's summer in Los Angeles so that makes it winter in New Zealand. Beck had lived in Canada for the first part of his life, so the forty degree weather in New Zealand wasn't all that bad for him, but it was freezing compared to the eighty or ninety degrees he's used to experiencing in California this time of year.

"Poor baby." Jade teases him "Still miss me?"

"More and more everyday."

"If you were literally anyone else, I think I would have vomitted by now." Cat interrupts

"Not into the lovey-dovey husband and wife shit, huh?" Jade laughs

"Not at all." Cat shakes her head "But you're two of my best friends, and you're kind of relationship goals...so I'll let it slide this time."

"We're sorry, Cat." Beck chuckles "We'll leave the words of affirmation for when we're alone."

"Thanks." Cat smiles a bit "Hey, while you're both here...well, I mean, kind of here, sorry Beck. I wanna talk about something."

"Alright?" Jade raises an eyebrow at her husband through the camera

Beck only shrugs. Whatever Cat wanted to talk about hadn't been brought up in conversation before Jade entered the room.

"Beck, I...we...have something for you too, but you're not here for me to give it to you in person. So you'll have to wait until you get back because I'm getting anxious as hell and I just want to do this finally." Cat explains, pulling a small box out of her purse and handing it to Jade "Jade, this is for you though."

"For me?" Jade is surprised as she takes the box in her hands, reading the tag attached "To Aunt Jade, love Squirt."

"What is it?" Beck asks his wife

"A necklace." Jade grins as she removes the lid, eyes falling to the writing on the inside of the box "'_I need an extra pair of hands to help me learn and grow. I think that yours would be the best, because Mommy told me so. Will you be my godmother_?' Oh my god, Cat..."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it." Jade nods, moving her head closer to speak to the baby residing in her best friend's abdomen "Of course I'll be your godmother, Squirt. I love you!"

"Beck, there's a coffee tumbler that says 'The Godfather' on it waiting for you when you get home." Cat tells him through the phone screen "If you want it."

"Of course I want it." Beck tells her "I'd be honored."

"I know you two would be there for the baby regardless, and that you don't really need the titles..." Cat sighs "But I wanted to give them to you."

"Thank you." Jade smiles as she takes the necklace out of the box "I love this so much, I'm going to see if costumes will let me wear it in the next scene."

It's a simple necklace, a gold ring on a gold chain, but the message behind it was what's important.

"That would be a cool easter egg to show him or her when they're old enough." Cat says

"You don't mind me wearing this in place of our star necklaces?" Jade teases Cat

When they were seventeen, they bought matching necklaces that consisted of a star charm suspended on a simple chain. Cat's is gold and Jade's is silver, both women still wear them frequently. The matching stars are intended to represent the careers in show business they both had wanted to achieve when they were young.

"Maybe you can alternate?" Cat laughs "I can't let Squirt steal all of your love from me."

"I think alternating can be arranged."


	4. Not Quite Ready

**Thank you to Boris Yeltsin for the reviews! Don't worry, the rest of our friends will be making appearances in the next few chapters, but it's not quite time for them yet. **

* * *

"Good morning, beautiful." Beck whispers into Jade's ear as he slides an arm around her waist

It's near ten o'clock on a Sunday morning, and light is flooding through the drapes in their bedroom they had forgotten to close the night before. Beck has been home from New Zealand for just over a week, but Jade has been busy filming so they haven't gotten to spend as much time together as they would like.

"Morning..." Jade yawns, "S'not that 'good' though because you're waking me by force rather than letting me do it on my own."

"C'mon, babe. It's almost ten!" Beck chuckles "We have to get up and start our day, do something productive."

"Beck, it's Sunday." Jade groans "It's my day off. I don't do _anything_ productive on my day off."

"Oh really? You don't do anything productive at all?" He muses, beginning to kiss her neck

"Mhmmm." She hums "_Nothing_ productive."

"I feel like a shower could be productive." Beck suggests before biting at his wife's ear "What do you think?"

"I think you should go warm the shower up..." Jade smirks, rolling over to face her husband "...and I'll join you in a few minutes."

"On second thought, I think I'll go for a run..." Beck shrugs, pressing a kiss to her lips and getting out of bed

"Are you joking?" Jade exclaims, sitting straight up "First you wake me up before I'm ready, then you fucking _tease_ me like that? I could kill you, Oliver."

"Relax, _Oliver_." Beck laughs, reminding his wife that she now shares his last name, therefore making her use of it slightly less threatening "I _am_ joking. I just like to get you riled up."

"Why?"

"You know why." He winks, turning to head towards the master bathroom attached to their bedroom "I'll make sure it's nice and steamy in here."

Jade watches as her husband closes the door behind him and waits until she hears the water turn on before she climbs out of bed. For once she doesn't have to worry about making herself look attractive or presentable, any effort that she puts in will just be undone in a few minutes when she climbs into the shower with Beck. She doesn't even waste any time making the bed or checking her phone, she just undresses and practically runs to the bathroom to join her husband.

They do it in the shower, and then again on the bathroom floor, and then again in their bed...twice. Beck was away for a month and a half, and they obviously have a lot of lost time to be making up for. After their second time in bed, both of them feel like they could just sleep the rest of the day away, but it's approaching noon now and Jade knows they do have to actually start their day at some point.

"We should do that every morning." Beck says with a goofy grin on his face as he kisses Jade's cheek before throwing off the sheets and standing up to get dressed "What do you say?"

"I say if we do that _every_ morning, it might kill us eventually..." Jade smirks as she eyes her husband's still-naked body until he disappears into his closet "...maybe every other morning though."

She hears Beck laugh, which makes her laugh a bit too. Not quite ready to leave the warmth of her bed, she rolls over and grabs her phone to see what she missed overnight and during the first half of the day. Her eyes go wide as she scrolls through all of the notifications that show up, including two voicemails, six missed calls, and almost thirty text messages.

"Shit!" She exclaims, bolting upright as she opens the first voicemail and presses the phone to her ear

"What's the matter?" Beck asks, reappearing in the bedroom still shirtless but wearing jeans now

"Cat and her mom have both been trying to get a hold of me all morning." Jade tells him, listening to the message "Oh my god, she's in the hospital..."

"Well hurry up and get dressed then." Beck tells her, feeling guilty for being part of the reason she hadn't been near her phone "We'll get down there as soon as we can."

"Wait." She holds a finger up to silence him, listening to the second voicemail "Alright...she's actually not in the hospital anymore, they sent her home."

"What was wrong?"

"Premature labor..." Jade sighs, scanning the missed text messages as she scrolls through them

"S'a bit early for that still isn't it?"

"That's why it's called 'premature'..." Jade can't help but roll her eyes at him "They gave her some medicine that stopped it though, thank god. Can you imagine if we had missed the birth of our godchild because we were super horny and having sex a million times in one morning?"

"Alright, well it wasn't a _million_ times..."

"Beck."

"Sorry." He apologizes "You said she's home now, right? We should still go see her."

"Yeah, we should." Jade agrees "And we should pick up some apology lunch on the way."

"You're right." Beck nods "Go ahead and get dressed, I'll give her a call."

* * *

"You were having sex, weren't you?" Cat smirks

"No!" Jade answers quickly, earning her a look of disbelief from Cat "Alright, maybe we were...I'm sorry. But he was gone for a month and that's a _really_ long time when you're married."

"That's a really long time even if you're not married. I pass no judgement." Cat assures both Jade and Beck "You're big kids, you can do what you want."

"Glad we have your approval."

"I'm going to go bring your parents their lunch." Beck tells Cat "Be back in a minute."

"You got lunch for my parents too?" Cat asks as Jade begins pulling salads out of a paper bag for both of them "That's so sweet."

"Of course we got them lunch." Jade shrugs "They live here too."

Jade passes a salad and a fork to Cat and then grabs her own and sits on the edge of her friend's bed. Beck comes back and grabs his own food, taking a seat on the floor next to Cat's bed as she recounts the events of her morning to her two friends.

She had woken up early that morning with bad cramping, but tried to ignore it and went back to sleep hoping that it would pass. Around seven she woke up again and the cramping was so bad she could barely stand, she had to use her phone to call her mom to come and help her get downstairs and then out to the car. When they arrived in the emergency room, a quick evaluation revealed she was having contractions and beginning to dilate. Her doctor admitted her immediately and they started her on an IV of terbutaline. After a few hours, the contractions stopped, as did the dilation. They kept her for another hour for observation, but eventually she was allowed to return home.

"It was so scary." Cat admits "If this baby had been born today there's no way it would have survived, and if that had happened...I don't even want to think about it."

"The important thing is they were able to stop it before things went too far." Beck reminds her "Just do what the doctors tell you to do and everything will be fine."

"What _did_ the doctors tell you to do?" Jade asks her

"Same thing they always do, 'just take it easy'." Cat sighs "I'm supposed to stay off work until at least Wednesday. After that if anything like that happens again, I'll be on bedrest permanently until Squirt here decides to make his or her entrance."

"Givin' Mom trouble already, huh Squirt?" Jade leans down so she's eye-level with Cat's bump "You're going to be a troublemaker just like me."

"Lord help me..." Cat sighs

"How about I see what I can do about this crib?" Beck offers, standing up and walking over to the box in the corner "That okay with you?"

"That would be great, Beck. Thanks." Cat smiles "My dad was going to start it, but his back has been bothering him a lot lately."

"I'm happy to help you and Squirt out." Beck assures her "I'll need some tools though."

"Garage." Cat tells him "My dad has his tool box out there, he might be able to give you a more precise location."

"Okay, be right back." Beck stops to give Jade a quick peck on the lips before exiting the room again

"We brought you something." Jade tells her friend, standing up and grabbing a cardboard box off the floor "Well, technically it's for Squirt, but you get what I mean."

"I was wondering what this was." Cat laughs, pulling the box into her lap "Please tell me you didn't go overboard."

"Jade's definition of overboard? Or Cat's definition of overboard?"

"Beck's." Cat says flatly, knowing it was the least extravagant answer of them all

"He helped me, actually." Jade tells her as she opens the box "We got it all online, didn't need the tabloids catching wind and starting a million pregnancy rumors."

"You'd be a great mom...one day you will be."

"Thanks." Jade laughs "But I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'll live vicariously through you for now."

"Jade..." Cat smiles as she reaches into the box "You didn't have to do this."

There's a dozen or so gender neutral baby outfits inside, in a variety of colors.

"Yeah, but I'm not just a regular aunt. I'm a cool aunt." Jade reminds her "And cool aunts spoil their nieces and nephews."

"Stop, these are so cute!" Cat exclaims, pulling out a pair of beige footed pajamas covered in orange cartoon fox heads "Thank you so much! C'mere!"

Jade leans over and gives Cat a tight hug just as Beck returns with Tom's toolbox.

"Gave her the baby clothes, eh?" Beck smirks as he sets the toolbox down and begins ripping at the crib box.

"She did." Cat tells him "And I heard you helped?"

"A bit." Beck shrugs

"Well thank you both so much." Cat says again "I'm sure he'll love all of these."

"Did you just say 'he'?" Beck asks

"Yeah, did you?" Jade adds

"I..." Cat hesitates "Yeah, I did. I don't have confirmation that it's a boy or anything, something in my gut is just telling me that it is."

"Oh my god! I thought you had found out and didn't say anything!" Jade exclaims "Jesus."

"Sorry..." Cat laughs "It just feels like that 'mother's intuition' thing, y'know?"

"If you say so..." Jade shrugs, sitting back down on the edge of the bed "Have you been giving any thoughts to names?"

"A lot, actually. Yeah." Cat smiles "I think...I think I'm going to name him Oliver. Oliver Thomas Valentine, after two of my very best friends and my dad. I'd call him Ollie."

Beck and Jade exchange a look with one another and both find that the other is grinning from ear to ear. They're honored to not only have this baby be their godchild, but now their namesake as well.

"That's a great name." Jade admits

"Yeah." Beck agrees "Real strong too."

"I know." Cat smiles "I've sort of fallen in love with it..."

"But..."

"But what?"

"What if it's a girl?"

"I don't think it is."

"Alright, but you said this pregnancy has just been one surprise after another, right?" Jade reminds her "What if it's a girl?"

"I honestly haven't given that one much thought..." Cat admits "I've always wanted to name my daughter Valerie, if I ever have one...but I never really anticipated on giving her _my_ last name. And I hate the way Valerie Valentine sounds. Especially if people call her Val...Val Valentine sounds awful."

"I mean...you could break it up with the middle name."

"Jade." Cat says without hesitation "My first daughter's middle name will be Jade."

"Hey!" Beck exclaims "What happened to me?"

"She knew me for a solid six years before she even _met_ you." Jade reminds him "Let me have this one."

"She's right." Cat laughs "Sisters before misters, always."

"Maybe one day we can return the favor and make our daughter's middle name Caterina." Beck smirks, making brief eye contact with his wife before going back to the crib

"Maybe." She nods

"One day soon, maybe?" Cat winks "Little Ollie is going to need a cousin to play with."

"No time soon. We just had this conversation, remember?" Jade shakes her head "But one day, for sure."


	5. Real Serious

"I hate you so much right now." Cat says flatly, her hand resting on her chin as she watches her best friend take a sip of wine "I would give anything for a glass of wine."

"Six more weeks." Jade smirks, setting her wine glass down on the kitchen island "Give or take."

She personally feels like Cat's whole pregnancy has flown by, with the baby arriving in less than two months. Cat, however, would say otherwise. She knows the next six weeks will just _crawl_ by, and actually end up feeling like another six months.

"All of the books say you go late with your first..." Cat sighs "I'm so sick of being pregnant."

"It'll be worth it in the end." Jade reminds her "Or at least that's what I've heard."

"It will be." Cat nods, resting a hand on her stomach "I just...I'm over the peeing every twenty minutes and constant back pain, y'know?"

"I know."

"Food's here!" Beck announces, entering the kitchen with the bag of takeout he had just retrieved from the delivery man at the door "Cat first, because she's pregnant and grumpy."

"Hey!"

"I say it with love." Beck assures her as he grabs her bowl of food out of the bag and slides it across the island to her

He gives Jade her food and then retrieves his own, throwing the paper take out bag in the trash before joining his wife and her friend at the barstools at their kitchen island. It's Monday night and Jade had wrapped filming early and Beck currently wasn't working on any projects, so they had invited Cat over for dinner. Jade's schedule was about to get real hectic the next few weeks, with her show filming its final episodes and season finale before taking a few months hiatus before they start the next, and Cat's world was going to be turned upside down with a new baby sooner than any of them would be able to prepare. This might very well be the last night the three of them got to spend together just the three of them before Baby Ollie...or a baby girl with a name that was yet to be determined...started joining them for their regular get togethers.

"Have either of you spoken to Tori lately?" Beck asks the two women

"Yeah." Both women respond in unison with smiles on their faces

Tori Vega, a friend of their's from high school, had contacted both Cat and Jade to tell them she had gotten engaged to her long time boyfriend, and one of Beck's best friends, Andre Harris. Tori and Andre had been in a situation similar to Cat and Robbie, they had crushed on each other in high school but never acted upon it because they figured it was just that, a goofy high school crush. But being away from each other in college made them realize that their crushes were real, legitimate feelings. By sophomore year, Andre had transferred to the same school as Tori, Vanderbilt, so that they could be together. Both had found careers in the music industry there, and were thriving at the moment. Obviously things had worked out for them, and Cat had to admit she was slightly jealous. But not jealous enough that she wasn't happy for her friend.

"Maybe we'll get to go to a wedding in Nashville." Cat smiles "Wow, how fun would that be?"

"I hate country music." Jade reminds her

"Right, you never went to visit." Cat rolls her eyes "It doesn't matter if you like country music or not, the atmosphere is amazing! You'll have fun, trust me."

"There's also a lot of bars." Beck adds

"Those I like." Jade nods "You don't think...never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, ask the question."

"You don't think they'll invite Robbie...do you?" Jade looks to Beck, not wanting to see the look on Cat's face with the mention of her ex's name

"I doubt it." Beck shakes his head "Andre cut ties with him too, and I can't see Tori being the one to stay in touch."

"That makes me feel awful." Cat admits

"What? Why?"

"Beck and Andre and...Robbie...they were really good friends, and I messed that up." Cat sighs

"No." Jade shakes her head "Robbie messed it up for himself. You didn't make him run away to Boston, he did that on his own. If he wants to be a dick, that's on him. Not you."

"Yeah." Beck agrees "He was a huge dick about the whole thing, and let's be real he had been acting like a pretentious dick long before the baby came into the picture. I don't want to be friends with a dick, neither does Andre."

"If you say so..."

"I do." Beck reaches around Jade and squeezes Cat's shoulder

"Have you spoken to him at all?" Jade asks Cat

"Nope." She shakes her head "He was serious about those papers, I guess. He doesn't want anything to do with me or his son."

"Or daughter."

"Sure."

"So, you're going to file the papers then?" Jade asks her

"They're in my hospital bag." Cat nods "They're already signed, they just need to be filed."

Beck and Jade exchange a look of pity with one another, both feeling sorry that their friend has to go through everything that she has and will still have to. They can help her as much as they can, be there for her and for their godchild, love them both as much as they can, but they can't fill the void of a boyfriend. Or of a father. Not truly, anyways.

"What's this, Jadey?" Cat asks, reaching across the island and grabbing a legal pad that has three and a half pages full of Jade's handwriting "Wait, is this the manuscript?!"

"Part of it..." Jade shrugs

"Where's the other part?"

"On her computer, on my computer..." Beck pretends to be annoyed "In a notebook, on her phone, on the back of a napkin from dinner last week..."

"Shut up." Jade elbows her husband "It's a _real_ work in progress, alright? When I think of something I have to write it down before I forget- hey hey what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Cat tells her, having flipped a few pages past Jade's last entry and started scribbling something down

"Cat, give me that." Jade grabs the notebook "This is real serious. I can't have you- oh alright, that's cute. I guess it's okay."

_You're doing great, keep writing._ Cat's handwriting appears in the middle of the page _I love you_.

She followed the message with a heart and her name as if to say '_Love, Cat_'.

"Inspiration." Cat smiles "Just in case you fall into a slump. But you won't, because you're a _great_ writer."

"Thanks, Cat." Jade wraps the arm closest to Cat around her shoulders and hugs her "You're the greatest."

"Eh, I try my best." Cat smirks "So, can I read this or-"

"Nope!" Jade snatches the legal pad out of her friend's hand and stands up to tuck it away in a cabinet "No one is reading anything until I get it all compiled in an organized fashion."

"But-"

"Uh uh." Jade shakes her head "You can't play the 'but I'm your best friend' card here. I mean it. Nobody."

"Don't worry Cat, you'll probably get to read it before I do." Beck tells her

"As I should." Cat says matter-of-factly "I've known her longer."

"That's true." Jade agrees, walking back towards the island and standing in between Cat and Beck "She gets first dibs, babe. Sorry."

"Sorry." Cat repeats, shooting Beck a playful 'I told you so' kind of look

"It's fine." Beck chuckles, standing up to dispose of his empty food containers

"Can I feel?" Jade asks Cat

"I suppose." Cat sighs with a smile, taking her friend's hand and placing it towards the top of her abdomen "The feet have been up here tonight."

"Woah!" Jade laughs as the baby kicks her hand "You've got a strong one in there."

"Don't I know it." Cat rolls her eyes "He's nocturnal too."

"Not that much longer." Jade reminds her "You can make it."

"Well I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

* * *

"I thought you would be happy for me...?" Jade sighs to her co-star as her director calls 'Action'

"Natalie, I _am_ happy for you." Her co-star Chris, who is acting as her on-screen fiancé Drew for the time being, assures her "I just-"

"Just what?" She shrugs "You just can't handle the fact that my career is going places and that I might end up making more money than you?"

"When did I say that?"

"You didn't have to." Jade shakes her head "I can see it in your eyes. Your fiancé is more successful than you and it hurts your pride."

"I _want_ you to be successful, baby. I do. But we made all these plans. We were gonna travel, and we were gonna start a family, and-."

"We can still do all of those things, Drew. God dammit!"

"Not if you can't get away from work!"

"CUT!" Their director yells "Great work guys, we just need to get some close-up shots for the editing."

"Jade!" Her assistant Emily, weaves her way through the crowd of crew members behind the cameras "Jade!"

"Emily!" Jade practically hisses "We're filming."

"I know, I'm sorry." Emily apologizes, turning around to apologize to the crew as well "I'm really sorry everyone, but it's an emergency."

"What kind of emergency?"

"Julie Valentine has been calling you non-stop." Emily explains, practically out of breath as she hands Jade her phone "I finally answered because I thought there might be something wrong and-"

"Spit it out, Emily!"

"There was an accident, a really bad one." Emily explains "Cat is in the hospital and- hey! Where are you going?"

"Jade?" The director stops her as she passes her chair "Where are you going? I just said we have to do close-ups."

"Use my stand-in and film from behind. I have to go, I'm sorry." Jade apologizes "There's a family emergency. I'll do the close-ups as soon as I get back."

"When will that be?"

Jade can barely hear her by the time she asks her that because she's already headed off the soundstage and towards the hallway that houses the cast's dressing rooms, Emily following close behind her.

"Did she tell you what hospital?" Jade asks Emily as she enters her dressing room

She can't leave in the clothes she's wearing, the outfit belongs to the costume department. She has to find something of her own to wear, and settles on one of the spare outfits she keeps in the dresser against the wall.

"UCLA Medical Center." Emily informs her, watching as her boss rushes frantically around the room trying to get dressed "The earrings, Jade."

"Right." Jade carefully takes the earrings out of her ears and places them on her vanity table "Thanks. I, uh-"

"Just go." Emily tells her, grabbing Jade's jacket off the hook on the wall and tossing it to her "I've got all of the technical stuff taken care of here. Don't worry."

"Thank you." Jade squeezes Emily's arm as she passes her on her way out of the small room "I owe you."

Jade reaches into her purse and grabs her phone, dialing Beck's number as she slings the bag over her shoulder on her way out to the parking lot.

"Julie already called me." Her husband says to her when he answers "I'm on my way."

"Alright good." Jade responds "Good. Did she say what happened?"

"Some asshole t-boned her on her way to work this morning." Beck sighs, referencing Cat "The car rolled. It...it's bad, Jade."

"Oh my god."

"Take your time getting there, okay?" Beck says to his wife calmly, knowing how she could react "We don't need two accidents in one day."

"I'll be careful." Jade assures him "I'll see you when I get there?"

"See you then." Beck agrees "I love you."

"I love you too." Jade tells him before hanging up

It's hard for her to stay calm as she makes her way to her car. She's praying that her friend is okay, and that the baby is okay. There isn't a doubt in her mind that her godchild is going to be born today, and that makes her even more worried. Sure, the baby is only about a month early at this point, but early is still early.

Jade climbs into her car and immediately grabs a hair tie from the cupholder and pulls her hair into a ponytail before positioning the baseball hat she keeps in the back of her car firmly atop her head. The last thing she needs today is a million paparazzi swarming the hospital because they got word that she and Beck were there. She can only hope that he thought to grab something to mask his appearance as well.

"It'll be okay..." Jade whispers to herself as she starts the car "Everything will be okay."


	6. Guardian Angels

"Beck?" Jade calls out to her husband

She sees him waiting at the end of the hallway with Cat's parents, his hands are folded in his lap and his head is down. When he hears her call his name he looks up and their eyes meet one another. He stands up and she begins to walk faster and faster until she's running towards him. Her body crashes into his and he wraps one arm around her body, and uses his other hand to cradle her head.

"Hey..." He says quietly, rubbing her back

"Hey." She says back, pecking him quickly on the lips before breaking their hug so that she can embrace each of Cat's parents "Tom, Julie, I'm so sorry."

"Don't you apologize." Tom tells her, his eyes and face still red from the tears he had shed when the police had called them "You didn't have anything to do with this."

Jade is immediately worried about Tom. He is getting older and has been having some health issues as of late. She's afraid if the doctors give them news that's anything but good, he might have a heart attack.

"Have you heard anything from anyone yet?" Jade asks the three other people with her, not directing the question to anyone in particular

It's Julie who explains to her that Cat's vitials, as well as the baby's, had been very low when the paramedics arrived on the scene of the accident. They hadn't been given a whole lot of other updates on Cat's condition other than they were taking her in for an emergency C-section in hopes of getting the baby out before it was too late.

"How long ago was that?"

"Not too long ago..." Beck shrugs, looking to Tom and Julie for confirmation

"No, not long at all." Julie agrees "We're waiting here rather than the waiting room because they'll have to bring the baby through these doors in order to take him up to the nursery. We're hoping when they do that someone will be able to finally tell us what's going on."

Jade nods as Beck wraps an arm around her and pulls her in for another hug, imagining how hard this must be on her. He knows that Jade had pictured this day differently. That she would be with her friend on the most demanding yet most exciting day of her life, not pacing a hospital corridor waiting to hear if their godchild had survived a horrible accident or not.

"This isn't how I pictured this day going..." She says quietly to him, confirming his thoughts

"I know..." He sighs, kissing the top of her head "It'll be alright."

But they both know, as well as Tom and Julie, that there's a chance it might not be. All four of them are imagining different versions of the worst case scenario. Cat has worked so hard to make sure that she could provide her child with everything he needed all on her own. If she were to lose the baby now, it would wreck her.

Jade's mind is racing as she tries to think of all the ways that she could have prevented this. She could have begged Cat to take the day off work and come to set with her, or she could have called her that morning and thrown her whole schedule off by a few minutes. Why did this have to happen to Cat, of all people? The universe had thrown enough her way the past eight months, she didn't need anything else added on top.

Roughly ten minutes later, the doors that Julie had referred to burst open and a group of nurses surrounding a baby cot rush out. The four adults are suddenly alert as they watch the baby come closer and closer to them.

"Is that Cat Valentine's baby?" Julie asks hopefully "I'm her mother."

"Sure is." One of the nurses nods "It's a little girl."

Jade feels as if her heart skips a beat and she almost can't believe the words that she's hearing.

"A girl." She smiles up at her husband, and then over to Tom and Julie "The universe sure is full of surprises, huh?"

Cat had been so convinced that the baby was a boy that they were all starting to believer her.

"Where are you taking her?" Julie asks

"Just up to the nursery." A nurse explains "She appears to be healthy, but we have to do some tests to make sure."

"I'm coming with you." Jade says, breaking away from Beck

"Ma'am-"

"I'm the baby's godmother." Jade tells her "Her mom is probably unconscious and there's no dad. I'm coming with you."

"Text me and keep me updated." Beck calls after Jade as she starts jogging after the group escorting the baby

"Mr. and Mrs. Valentine?" A doctor appears out of the same set of doors the baby had just come from "I'm-"

Jade doesn't hear the rest of the conversation as she rounds the corner to head towards the elevators. The baby in the plastic cot is whimpering, but not crying. She's not sure if that's normal or not, but every time she sees a newly born baby on TV it's always screaming its head off. She's tempted to ask, but chooses not to so she avoids looking uneducated in front of a group of nurses who appear to already be unhappy with her presence.

She's not allowed into the actual nursery itself, there's too many other babies and their immune systems are weak. Only nurses and mothers are allowed inside, so Jade watches from the glass window as a nurse picks Cat's daughter up and carries her over to a table where a sponge and a bowl of soapy water is waiting.

Even through the glass Jade can hear the baby start to scream when the wet sponge makes contact with her skin, and she can't help but smile knowing that the baby's lungs are strong enough for her to scream like that. Once she's cleaned off a nurse measures her and weighs her, and then a doctor in a white coat comes over to examine her. A nurse nudges the doctor's arm and gestures to Jade, and Jade waves to him because she feels like she just should. The doctor smiles at her and gives her a thumbs up, which lets Jade breathe a little easier.

Eventually, a nurse picks the baby girl up again and wraps her in a hospital blanket. She slides a little pink hat on her head and places her in a new plastic bassinet, wheeling the cot over to the row with the rest of the newborns. The identification card at the head of the cot reads 'Hello! My name is: Baby Girl Valentine - 5 lbs 7 oz'.

"You're small..." Jade says to the baby through the glass "Then again, so is your mom...and you're a month early...so..."

The baby quickly falls asleep, being born is exhausting after all, but Jade continues to stand outside the glass and watch over her protectively. She wonders if Cat had given any thought to a name, or if the two of them would have to spend hours combing through name books and searching the web trying to find the perfect one. Oliver Thomas was definitely out of the question now, maybe she would be an Olive or an Olivia.

"Jade?" A voice says from behind her

"Beck." Jade smiles to her husband briefly before turning her attention back to the baby "Look. She's the one on the end."

Beck slips his arm around Jade's waist and she leans her head against him as the two of them continue to look at the baby.

"She's tiny." Beck says, his voice catching a bit "She looks like Cat, though."

"She does." Jade agrees, looking up at her husband "Hey, are you alright? Were you crying?"

"Jade, I need to tell you something..." Beck says quickly, tears beginning to form in his eyes again

"Babe?"

"Jade, Cat...she uh..."

"No..." Jade shakes her head, stepping away from him "No, Beck. Please."

"She's gone, Jade." Beck chokes, looking at his wife with the most pained expression "She was in real bad shape after the accident but then the c-section...her body just gave out-"

Beck continues to talk but Jade can't hear him, she can't hear anything. Not what her husband is saying to her, not the screams and sobs that begin to escape her lungs, not the nurse coming out of the nursery to ask them if they're okay. She feels like she can't breathe, she's choking on her own saliva as she drops to her knees and buries her face in her hands. She feels Beck's arms around her, holding her tightly as she cries.

Cat can't be dead. That's not how this story is supposed to end. They're supposed to fly to Nashville together for Tori's wedding in a few months, Jade is supposed to be the maid of honor at Cat's wedding when the time comes, Cat is supposed to be the godmother to Jade's own child in a few years or so...they're supposed to grow into obnoxious old ladies together.

"This...t-th-this isn't r-r-real." Jade stammers out as Beck rocks her back and forth, still sitting on the floor outside the nursery

"I'm so sorry, Jade."

* * *

Cat Valentine lived for just under a minute after delivering her daughter. Between the injuries she had sustained from the crash and the surgical process itself, it was just too much for her body to handle. Jade had just missed the doctor who came to break the news to the family, with him arriving only seconds after she had run off to accompany the baby up to the nursery. Julie Valentine had almost collapsed, and probably would have ended up on the floor if Beck hadn't caught her, and Tom immediately began feeling very unwell. Nurses paid him immediate attention because they thought he might have been having a heart attack, just as Jade feared, but it had turned out to be a panic attack instead. A grief counselor was readily available to Julie almost immediately, and she begged Beck to go and find Jade as nurses began to help Tom.

Beck didn't know where the nursery was, and needed to ask for directions several times. He could only imagine the headlines that would soon appear across the internet as the people he approached for help began posting about how one of the biggest actors in the world approached them in UCLA Medical Center, crying and asking for directions. He didn't think it was possible to feel any more numb than he had when he had heard the doctor say that Cat hadn't made it, but when he saw Jade standing protectively by the window to the nursery...he felt like he couldn't breathe.

The hospital staff had allowed them to go into an empty room down the hall so that Jade could calm down. Between them being celebrities and the area being full of newborn babies, everyone agreed it was probably best to let her freak out behind closed doors rather than in the middle of the corridor. She collapsed onto the hospital bed in a fit of sobs and Beck laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her while she cried. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, and while Cat meant a lot to him...he knew that she meant even more to Jade. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his wife must be feeling.

After about two hours, something in Jade snapped. She stopped crying, and she told Beck that she wanted to wash her face and go back to see the baby. Whether or not that was the best option for her at the moment, Beck wasn't really sure. But he knew better than to argue with his wife when her mind was made up about something. So he let her go into the bathroom and wash the melted makeup off her face, and then the two of them went back to the nursery window to look at the baby together. They've only been standing there for about twenty minutes when they hear a voice from behind them.

"So this..." Julie Valentine sighs with a small smile "...is my granddaughter."

"Julie." Jade gasps, immediately hugging the woman "How's Tom? Beck told me-"

"Tom is alright." Julie assures her "His emotions got the best of him...and who could blame him? We've been discussing a few things, but he's resting now. They'll release him in the morning. How's this little girl doing?"

"The nurses won't give us any information because we're not technically family..." Jade explains "But they keep giving us thumbs up, and she's not hooked up to any monitors or anything...so it looks like a clean bill of health?"

"That's a miracle." Julie smiles "What a strong little girl."

"She's a fighter for sure." Beck agrees "How...how are you doing? With everything?"

"I'd prefer not to talk about it...at least not right now." Julie tells him "My main priority right now is this little one."

"What's going to happen to her?" Jade asks quietly, looking to the baby

She knows in her heart Cat would have been over the moon to have a little girl. The fact that her best friend never even had the chance to meet her daughter makes her feel like her heart has shattered even more than it already did.

"If Tom and I were younger, and maybe a little healthier...we would take her in a heartbeat." Julie sighs heavily, brushing away a tear "But we're not. And as morbid as it sounds, neither one of us knows if we'll make it the next eighteen years. So-"

"Let us adopt her." Jade blurts out

She knows that something like that isn't a spur of the moment decision, and that it's something she should have absolutely discussed with her husband before offering. But all she can hear inside her head right now are Cat's words to her in the room at urgent care all of those months ago...

_"I'd never want to carry a child inside of me for so long only to have it raised by strangers."_

Jade doesn't blame Julie and Tom for opting to put the baby up rather than raise her themselves. She was right after all, the couple is getting older and children are a lot of work, but Cat wouldn't want her baby to go to just anyone. She and Beck had agreed to be this baby's godparents, and godparents are supposed to be guardian angels. Cat wanted them to look out for this baby, and she'll do everything in her power to make sure that they still can.

"Yeah." Beck agrees as he places a hand on Jade's shoulder, much to her surprise "We don't want to overstep any boundaries or anything...but if you and Tom don't think you can...then we will absolutely take her."

"Really?" Jade turns to him

They hadn't discussed this, it hadn't even crossed Jade's mind until just that second. But Beck had thought about it. While they had been laying in the hospital bed, while Jade had been crying, he had been thinking. That hadn't been the time to bring it up, he was going to do it later, when they were at home just the two of them. But Jade had beaten him to it, and he guesses now was as good a time as any.

"Really." He nods "Cat would have wanted that baby to be with family. And we're not _really_ family but-"

"You're family." Julie interrupts him "There's no argument there. You two have always been such good friends to Cat, especially these past few months...you might as well be blood. But a child is a _big_ responsibility to take on..."

"We know that..." Jade nods, taking Beck's hand "But for Cat...I..._we_ would do anything."

"We would." Beck nods "So if you're-"

"Say no more." Julie stops him "I agree with you. Let's not get into any paperwork tonight because I think today has been a very overwhelming day for everyone, but you're right. That little girl will be better off with the two of you than she would be with anyone else."

"Thank you, Julie. It means a lot that you trust-"

"Ah ah." Julie interrupts, waving a hand in front of her face "I said we're not getting into it tonight. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a nurse and get a little more information than a thumbs up."

"Of course." Jade says quietly as Julie walks away, then turns to Beck "I'm so sorry to put you on the spot like that. We should've talked about it first I just-"

"Stop it." Beck reaches forward and takes both of his wife's hands in his "I had been thinking about it for a few hours already before you even brought it up."

"Really?"

"Really." Beck nods "It's the right thing to do."

Jade says nothing in response but breaks her hands away from Beck's and slips them around his waist, leaning into him to hug him. He kisses the top of her head and rubs her back gently, not really knowing how else to comfort her at this point.

"So...I guess we're going to be parents sooner than we thought, huh?" She finally says to him

"Yeah..." Beck sighs, examining the circumstances "I guess so."


	7. What's In A Name?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Beck asks his wife as she splashes water on her face

Jade isn't even sure what 'it' he is referring to, 'it' could mean so many different things at this point...that not even twenty-four hours prior her best friend had died, that they agreed to adopt said friend's newborn daughter, that they weren't even close to prepared to bring a newborn home...

They had spent a majority of the day prior at the hospital. Between wanting to be there as moral support for Tom and Julie and wanting to be there to watch over the baby, they hadn't left until close to nine at night after arriving there shortly after ten in the morning. It would have been an exhausting day without the traumatic event that had occurred, and they had fallen asleep as soon as they arrived home. They barely had a chance to talk about anything at all.

"What does 'it' mean?" She asks him, looking into the mirror to see him leaning against the doorway to their bathroom behind her

"Whatever you want it to mean." He tells her, walking in and leaning against the countertop next to her

"That's a loaded question." Jade sighs, reaching for her makeup bag

"I know it is." Beck nods "But there's like five elephants in this room right now and we haven't been able to talk about a single one of them."

"Loosing her was awful enough..." Jade looks down at her feet "I...I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye."

By the time Jade had wrapped her head around everything that was going on and realized she wanted to say goodbye to Cat, it had been too late. A coroner had already come and taken her, and Jade wasn't allowed to see her.

"Not yesterday, no. But you will." Beck reminds her "You wouldn't have wanted to see her yesterday anyways. She was all bruised and bloody from the accident-"

"Thank you," Jade cuts him off ", for that lovely mental picture of my best friend. That's what I want to be left with."

"Someone from the funeral home will dress her and put makeup on her and make her look like the Cat that _we_ knew." Beck clarifies "The one that we're going to want to remember. That's when you'll want to say goodbye. I think seeing her yesterday would have made things worse."

"Right."

Beck senses that there's more Jade isn't telling him, but knows better than to push such a sensitive subject. In the coming weeks there will be services and memorials and he hopes that she'll be able to better express what she's feeling then, if not to him than maybe to one of her parents or to one of their other friends. He watches her as she begins to apply her makeup, knowing that he won't get anything else out of her. He exits the bathroom and goes into his closet to get dressed.

They had been woken up this morning by a phone call from Julie, telling them that the hospital wanted to fill out a birth certificate for the baby and that there were legal documents that needed to be signed. If they were serious about adopting the baby, then they were the ones who needed to fill everything out. They had groggily agreed to be there within the hour and climbed out of bed immediately.

Beck has heard before that no one is ever really 'ready' to become a parent, so to speak. And those people who aren't 'ready' are usually biological parents who have nine months or so to mentally prepare themselves. Forty-eight hours ago he had thought he was ready to be Uncle Beck, the cool uncle who could teach his godchild how to ride a bike or how to swim. Being Uncle Beck would be one thing, but being Dad is a whole different ballgame. He and Jade had always talked about having children one day, especially recently with Cat being pregnant, but they had agreed it would be something that would happen way further down the road, when they were twenty-seven or twenty-eight and a bit more established as a married couple. Sure, they had been together for practically forever and had just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, and twenty-five isn't really that far from twenty-seven or twenty-eight...but it had all happened literally in the matter of a day. Hell, forty-eight hours ago he was still expecting a godson named Oliver Thomas, and now he was about to go sign paperwork saying he has a daughter. He's terrified.

Not terrified enough that he won't do it though. He knows that adopting the baby and raising her is the right thing for him and Jade to do. Because he loves that baby and he couldn't bear to see her go to strangers either, nor could Jade. Heaven forbid if the roles had been reversed, he knows that Cat would have done the same thing for them.

* * *

"Oh wow." Jade finds herself fighting tears as a nurse places the baby in her arms "Wow, she looks like Cat."

The sleeping baby does in fact share a majority of her biological mother's features. They have the same button nose and dimples, and Jade can see dark brown hair peaking out from under the baby's hat.

"She really does." Tom, who had been recently discharged from the hospital himself, agrees "Guess that's sort of a double-edged sword, isn't it?"

She'll always remind them of her, and that will be both beautiful and painful all at once.

"Hey, little girl." Beck smiles down at the baby as he places a hand on his wife's shoulder, then looks up to Tom and Julie "You'll both be able to see her whenever you want. Caleb too."

Caleb is Tom and Julie's oldest child, and Cat's only sibling. He was four years older than her, and chose to spend a majority of his time and money traveling. He didn't have a permanent address in the United States, and never spent more than a week there visiting. He was always jumping from country to country, embarking on new adventures and meeting new people. Unfortunately, his sister's funeral would be bringing him home soon.

"Of course." Jade immediately agrees with her husband "We'll make sure of it."

"We know you will." Julie smiles sadly "And we appreciate that."

"We can't start the paperwork unless we have a name..." The nurse says shyly "What should I write down?"

"Oh, uh..." Beck looks from the baby to Jade and then to Tom and Julie "We haven't really discussed-"

"Valerie." Jade says with a shaky voice "Cat said that she always wanted to name her daughter Valerie...so her name is Valerie, just like the song."

"Valerie Caterina." Beck tells the nurse, knowing he already has his wife's approval on the middle name "C-A-T-E-R-I-N-A."

"S'a beautiful name." Julie agrees, tears in her eyes

"Last name?" The nurse asks

"Should it be Valentine?" Beck turns back to Jade

"Not unless you want the press invading our lives even more than they're already going to..." Jade shakes her head, already nervous at the thought

Paparazzi are going to stop at nothing to get the story behind Beck and Jade Oliver's sudden adoption of a mystery baby and the sudden absence of Jade's once-pregnant best friend.

"It should be Oliver." Tom tells them "Her middle name is her mother's. That part of her will live on...but you two are going to have the legal responsibility. It should be Oliver."

"Alright." Beck nods, touching his wife's arm softly "Unless you want West-Oliver?"

They hadn't yet had the opportunity to discuss whether their children would have a hyphenated name or if they would just take Beck's. Beck intended to have the conversation in a few years when the situation would be more literal than hypothetical.

"I'm only Jade West Oliver professionally." Jade reminds him "Legally, I'm just Oliver. She can be just Oliver too. Valerie Caterina Oliver."

"That sounds perfect."

"I need signatures on the red flags and initials on the green." The family lawyer the hospital has assigned to their case says to Beck, handing him a pen "Dad, you're first."

"Dad..." He sighs, taking the pen and staring down at the paper "Wow."

He leans over the table and signs and initials where it indicates him to. Jade cradles the baby in the crook of her left arm and takes the pen from Beck in her right once he's finished, and then she signs and initials where she needs to as well.

"Congratulations, Mom and Dad." The lawyer smiles "I still have to file this, but as far as the state of California is concerned, she's legally yours."

"Thank you." Beck and Jade say in unison, as Julie begins to cry

"Julie..." Jade turns to the woman who had practically become her second mother "I-"

"It's been a very overwhelming thirty-six hours, I'm fine." Julie assures her "Well, not fine. But I'm relieved that she's going to you two. You'll be able to take much better care of her."

"Do you want to hold her...?" Jade offers

Julie nods her head, biting her lip to keep her tears at bay. As Jade tries to pass the baby over to her she realizes very very quickly that it's been a while she held a baby, and that she doesn't know much about it. Hell, she barely knows anything about babies in general. Luckily, she's able to just hold the infant in Julie's direction and she does the rest for her.

"Valerie..." Julie whispers, nestling the baby in her arms "You're such a beautiful girl, just like your mama..."

Jade can't help herself from tearing up as she watches both Tom and Julie fawn over the baby.

_"This isn't how this was supposed to happen_. She finds herself thinking _"Cat should be here, they should be enjoying this moment as a family."_

It still doesn't really feel real to her yet that her best friend isn't there anymore. Jade keeps feeling like at any moment a nurse could come in and say something along the lines of 'she's awake, and she wants to see you', then escort them all into a room where Cat will be groggily waiting for them all. She'll ask what had happened and Jade would hug her and tell her that it didn't matter, that she was alive and safe and had a beautiful baby girl. But that's all in her head, it isn't reality. The reality is that Cat had left them, and that Beck and Jade were now taking responsibility for the daughter she never got the chance to meet.

It's inevitable that Valerie will call Jade and Beck 'Mom' and 'Dad', their names are on her birth certificate and now her adoption papers. They will raise her and will be her parents in every sense but in biology. She will know their mothers as 'Grandma' and their fathers as 'Grandpa', but Beck and Jade will make sure that Julie and Tom retain those titles that were originally supposed to be their's in the first place. Valerie is a lucky baby. Some children never get the chance to meet any of their grandparents, but she'll have three sets.

Beck reaches out and wraps an arm around his wife's shoulders, pulling her close to him and wrapping her up in a hug. He knows that she's feeling all kinds of things, as is he. They're mourning their friend, Jade's best friend, and wrapping their head around becoming parents with almost no warning at all.

"We'll be fine." He whispers to her before kissing the top of her head "It will be a rough few weeks, but everything will be fine."

"I know." She whispers back "It just feels really hard right now, not having her."

"I know it does." He tells her "And I love you for being so strong."

"I love you for acting like I'm being strong."


	8. Imposter Syndrome

Tom and Julie offer Beck and Jade everything that Cat had purchased for the baby: the crib, the rocking chair, the carseat, the clothes...everything. The couple respectfully declines the offer, urging Cat's parents to donate everything to charity so that a child who's parents might not be as well off has access to the necessities. It wasn't that they didn't want the things that Cat had picked out, or that they were trying to rub their wealth and success in anybody's faces. It was that everything reminded them of Cat, and having everything that she had picked out for the baby made Jade feel like she was stealing her friend's life even more than she already did. That and they really truly did want the items to go to children who really needed them.

Julie insisted that they take the box of clothing they had originally purchased as a gift for Cat. She hadn't bought it herself and it had no ties to her whatsoever. Jade is still overwhelmed though when she opens the box to sort through everything and is met with the familiar scent of Cat's perfume. For a split second she felt as if she would turn around and her friend would be standing there behind her like nothing ever happened...but she wasn't. Beck immediately grabbed the outfits out of the box and threw them in the washing machine, knowing it would only make things worse for Jade if he let the scent linger too long. The couple decides that the pair of beige footed pajamas covered in orange fox heads, that Cat had loved so much when they first gave her the gift, would be the outfit that they brought Valerie home in for the first time.

The writers on Jade's show find a way to rework their season finale so her character doesn't appear. Between the grief of losing her friend and the stress of a new baby, there was just no way that she could handle being on set for hours and hours while they finished shooting. They'll have her record voice audio on her cell phone that will be used to create a phone conversation between her and her character's fiancé, and they assure her that they will re-evaluate how she's feeling when the time comes for the next season. Beck agrees not to take any jobs for awhile either, so they can take some time to figure out their new situation.

Jade sits quietly on the edge of her and Beck's bed, staring down at the sleeping infant in her arms. Valerie has only been home with them for a few hours now and despite the baby's relatively calm demeanor, the young woman already feels quite overwhelmed. Just two weeks ago Cat had been sitting downstairs in their kitchen, complaining about how done she was with being pregnant...and now she was laying lifeless and cold in a morgue somewhere across town.

"She would have loved you..." Jade whispers to Valerie, gently stroking the infant's cheek with her thumb "Seriously, little girl. You're everything your mama would have wanted."

Hearing the word 'mama' escape her lips sends a shiver down her spine. As far as the State of California is concerned, Cat is not Valerie's mother...Jade is. Cat had done all of the hard work; gone through all of the stress and difficulties of being pregnant, spent sleepless nights worrying about her child's future, worked extra shifts to make sure she could afford to give the baby everything that she needed...and she wasn't even here to see just how wonderful and beautiful her little girl turned out to be.

"Hey..." Beck says quietly as he enters the bedroom "How's everybody doing in here?"

There had been a baby swing that needed assembling in the nursery down the hall, so he got straight to work as soon as they got home just in case they needed it. Thankfully for Jade, Valerie had been quite content just sleeping the entire time and barely fussed at all while he was absent.

"I feel like I'm stealing her life." Jade admits as her husband sits down on the bed next to her "She loved her _so_ much before she ever even met her, and how I'm the one who gets to be 'Mommy' instead."

"Jade..."

"We're imposters."

"No we're not..." Beck assures her "She's going to know Cat, remember? We're going to make sure of it."

The previous night they had stayed up quite late, discussing how they were going to handle the conversation whenever it presented itself. Jade had been very adamant about making sure that Valerie knew she was adopted from the first moment she was old enough to understand it and Beck agreed with her that in their situation, it would probably be best for everyone if they went that route. They had already begun reading different parenting blogs about how start the conversation, how to answer questions that a child might ask at different ages, and about different children's books that discussed the topic.

"It's just so hard to think of her as our daughter when I know she was meant to be Cat's..." Jade sighs

"You know she'd be thrilled to know that you're the one who's going to be taking care of her, don't you?" Beck assures his wife "You-"

"And _you_." She reminds him

"Yes, and me." Beck nods "That _we're_ taking care of her. You're her best friend, Jade. I know in my heart that if she had gotten any say in this...she would have picked you anyways."

"But she didn't get a say..."

"No, unfortunately not."

The two of them sit in silence for a few moments, watching Valerie sleep until the baby starts to whimper a bit and begins to wave her arms around aimlessly in space.

"Shhhh..." Jade bounces the baby gently "You're okay, we're here. I've got you...Mommy's got you."

Beck can't help but smile as he watches his wife stand up and begin to pace the length of their bedroom, rocking the baby gently in her arms. He knows that she had referred to herself as 'Mommy' to get used to the idea of saying it out loud, but it still warms his heart to hear her say it. No matter the circumstances, both of them love that baby with all of their hearts.

"This is going to get easier." He says as he stands up and walks over to her "I promise."

Jade stops pacing and allows Beck to wrap his arms around her waist, peering over her shoulder as he looks down at Valerie.

"I know." She whispers, looking from Beck to Valerie, and then back to Beck "I just wish it didn't hurt so much right now."

"Me too." He nods, pressing a kiss to her temple "Me too."

* * *

"Ironically, she's a very happy baby." Jade tells Julie as they walk up the stairs of the Valentine home "She's very...chill."

Valerie is wrapped up in a baby sling and resting against her chest, fast asleep and oblivious to the world around her. As Jade had said, the baby was usually quite content and only cried when she needed something.

"How is that ironic?" Julie asks her

"Just..." Jade hesitates before answering "The entire situation in which she came about wasn't exactly the best."

"I understand." Julie nods, stopping in front of Cat's bedroom door "We...no one has been in here, nothing has been touched."

"I figured that would be the case." Jade admits, rubbing Valerie's back gently through the sling "It has to be done though, right?"

"Right."

Julie reaches for the doorknob and enters the room. Jade follows behind her and is immediately overwhelmed with the familiar and lingering scent of her best friend. The same scent that used to be all over her clothes after she would spend the night here as a teenager, and the same scent that had been all over the box of Valerie's clothes when they had received them.

Cat is everywhere yet nowhere all at once.

Jade feels as if she could cry but knows she has to try her very best not to partially because she doesn't want to upset Julie, but also because the irregular breathing could startle the baby cuddled up against her chest if she were to start sobbing. That doesn't stop the tears from forming in the corners of her eyes though.

"I know it's hard..." Julie says softly "Sometimes I consider sleeping in here, just to see if it will make me miss her any less...but I know that it won't."

"Sorry." Jade apologizes quickly before wiping her tears away and moving towards Cat's closet

Julie had asked Jade if Cat had a favorite dress, or maybe a favorite outfit, that she liked wearing. Her funeral was now only a few days away and it was time to select something for Cat to spend eternity in.

"She lived in this sweatshirt..." Jade chuckles as she opens the closet doors, her eyes immediately falling on Cat's old UCLA sweatshirt "Though she'll probably haunt me for the rest of my life if this is what I let you dress her in for the rest of eternity."

It was a soft baby blue with the school's name written across it in gold letters, and it had been two sizes too big for her quite petite friend. Cat had always said that the bigger the sweatshirt was, the more comfortable.

"She always loved to dress up." Julie smiles "You're right, she'd want something fancy. Especially if all of those people are going to come say goodbye to her."

"You're right." Jade manages to laugh, reaching for a dress "This one. She'd like this one."

The dress is white with short sleeves, and covered in a pastel floral pattern. Cat had always loved wearing it in the summer when her skin had tanned a bit from the sun.

"I remember this one." Julie smiles, taking the dress in her hands "I saw it quite often."

"It was one of her favorites." Jade nods, turning back to the closet and grabbing a pair of nude heels "And these. Make sure she's in these. Even in the afterlife she'll want to be as tall as everyone else."

Julie nods with a laugh, brushing a tear away from her eye. It feels good for both of them to get to talk about Cat in a positive way, rather than only acknowledging the fact that she's gone.

"Why don't you take the sweatshirt..." Julie offers "Something to remember her by."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Julie assures her "We have a whole room of stuff, we won't miss just one sweatshirt."

"Thank you." Jade grabs the sweatshirt off of the rack and tucks it under her arm "Oh! That reminds me..."

She reaches around her neck and removes the silver star necklace that she had purchased to match Cat's gold one many years ago and hands it to Julie.

"Can she wear that too?" Jade asks, almost feeling like she's begging "I want to make sure part of me goes with her."

"If that's what you want, of course." Julie nods "But...don't you want to keep it to remind yourself of her?"

"Actually..." Jade turns and starts walking towards the other side of the room

She opens up Cat's jewelry box and grabs the matching gold star necklace that is sitting right on the top

"I was hoping it would be okay if I took this one..." Jade explains "That way I always have a piece of her, and she always has a piece of me...and we can still match."

"I like that idea a lot, actually." Julie admits "The necklace is yours then, and I'll make sure that she's wearing this."

"Thank you, Julie." Jade opens her arms and embraces the woman "This means a lot."

"It means a lot to me too." Julie tells her, breaking away from the hug "You're Cat's best friend, and it would mean so much to her that you're doing all of this. You're...doing her the ultimate favor."

Jade watches as Julie's eyes fall upon Valerie, who is still resting peacefully in the sling against her chest.

"She would have done the same for me..." Jade nods, trying her best not to start crying again

"I know she would have." Julie says, her voice catching a bit "That's why you two were such great friends."


	9. Bittersweet Anniversaries

The first few months of Valerie's life are hard on everyone surrounding her.

Tom and Julia find it difficult to watch someone other than Cat raise their granddaughter, even though they know there isn't anyone more qualified for the job than Beck and Jade. They still see the baby often, and know for certain she is happy, healthy, and taken care of. To their delight, Caleb agrees to stay in California for the time-being. He tells his parents because he's finally ready to settle in somewhere and start building a permanent life, but he confides to Jade that he's only staying because he knows his father won't be too far behind his sister and he doesn't want his mother to be alone when that time comes. He decides to move back into his old bedroom and finds a job with a local agency that helps tourists plan their vacation itineraries.

Beck and Jade struggle a bit more to adjust to their new life. As if losing a close friend wasn't difficult enough to begin with, they were also adjusting to life as new parents and dodging media and paparazzi at almost every turn. Everyone wanted to know how they were coping, what it was like to be in their situation, it was almost as if they had no privacy whatsoever anymore. Both of them cried a lot during those first few months, sometimes out of sorrow, but mostly out of frustration. Things get easier with time though, they adjust. They find a normalcy in this new family life. Jade is able to return to work when her show begins filming again, taking Valerie to set with her from time to time so that her cast mates get the chance to ogle over the baby she and her husband have fallen so deeply in love with. She even becomes more comfortable with introducing Valerie as 'my daughter' rather than just by her name. Beck takes on a few projects in his spare time as well. Life seems like it might be as close to back to normal as it will ever be...until Valerie's first birthday...

First birthdays are a big deal, or at least they should be. But Valerie's happens to fall on the first anniversary of her biological mother's death, and that makes it hard for anyone to be in a celebratory mood. Beck and Jade throw a small get together the weekend prior to the actual day, just their parents, Tom and Julie, Caleb, and a few of their closer friends who they have made through working on various projects. Tori and Andre even fly out from Nashville to make an appearance, despite being into the final stages of their wedding planning. The little girl, who has started to look so much like Cat with her deep brown eyes and mess of chocolate curls on top of her head, has absolutely no idea what is going on, but her mommy and daddy are letting her eat a whole cake by herself! Who wouldn't be excited?

Jade is woken up on Valerie's actual birthday the same way that she is on any other day that she doesn't need to be on set at the crack of dawn, by the familiar sound of Valerie's babbling through the baby monitor on her nightstand at almost 7:45 exactly.

"Right on time." Beck chuckles, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sits up in bed "She sticks to her schedule, that's for sure."

"Mhm..." Jade hums in agreement, already feeling the sourness of the day creep into her body

Beck senses his wife's mood immediately and even though Jade is normally the one to get their daughter out of bed in the morning, he throws the blankets off of his body and pads down the hallway to the nursery in her place.

"Dah-de!" Valerie grins when Beck enters the room

She's already standing up in her crib, her favorite stuffed animal tucked under her arm. Her hair is messy on top of her head and she looks like she's only just woken up, yet she lifts her arms up, eager to get up and play already.

"Good morning, birthday girl." Beck smiles as he lifts her into his arms "Did you sleep good?"

The baby smiles back at him and hides her face in his chest, wrapping her free arm around her father's shoulders.

"Aw big hugs!" He laughs "Thank you, Valerie!"

Beck carries her over to the changing table and changes her into a fresh diaper before sliding her pajamas back on. He grabs the tiny hairbrush from one of the drawers and gently begins to brush out Valerie's mess of wild hair before deciding she looks presentable enough and picking her up again.

"I know it's your birthday today, but it's also a really hard day for Mommy and me." Beck says quietly to the baby, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead "We lost someone very special a year ago, and we'll tell you about it one day. But for now, do you think you can be an extra-special good girl for us?"

Valerie doesn't yet have the capacity to understand what he's saying but she smiles regardless, which makes Beck smile too. He rests her on his hip and carries her back to the master bedroom, opening the door quietly just in case Jade had fallen back to sleep.

"Mama?" Valerie says eagerly as they enter the room "Mama!"

"Good morning, Miss Valerie!" Jade says, managing to crack a smile as she positions herself to sit upright "Happy Birthday!"

Beck sets Valerie down on the edge of the bed and she crawls straight into Jade's open and waiting arms. She hugs the baby to her chest and kisses the top of her head before adjusting the blankets around her so they're both covered.

"You should have seen her hair when I went in there." Beck chuckles, climbing back into bed "It was crazy."

"Well she's half Cat and half Robbie..." Jade smirks, smoothing down the baby's hair before kissing the top of her head again "You're going to have a whole mess of curls for the rest of your life, sorry kiddo."

Everyone feared that Robbie would come out of the woodwork once he learned Cat had died and try to claim his paternity. Co-parenting seemed to be his biggest fear when Cat first found out she was pregnant, and now that wasn't an issue. He stayed quiet though, thankfully. Neither Beck nor Jade had heard from him since he moved to the east coast.

"You doing okay?" Beck asks his wife

He already feels the pit in his stomach that he knew he would, he tries his hardest to stay strong for Jade when she starts to feel upset...but that doesn't make him miss Cat any less either.

"I guess so." Jade sighs "But I've only been awake for a few minutes."

"Fair enough." Beck nods

"How are you?" She asks him

"I have this pit in my stomach like I did the day she died..." He admits "Y'know? Like I can feel that something is wrong but I know I can't fix it."

"I've been there." Jade nods

"Do you still want to go get the tattoo today?"

Jade doesn't say anything, but nods to tell him that the answer is 'yes'. She reaches over and grabs a piece of yellow legal paper off of her nightstand and hands it to her husband.

It's the paper from her legal pad Cat had scribbled a quick message on the very last night the three of them had dinner together before the accident.

_You're doing great, keep writing._ Cat's handwriting appears in the middle of the page _I love you_. The message is followed with a heart and her name as if to say '_Love, Cat_'. Jade wants to get the heart and Cat's name tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, so that she can carry a piece of her friend with her at all times.

"I'll call Tom and Julia and see if we can drop Val by a little later." Beck smiles in support as he hands the paper back to her "But first, I think I promised a certain little girl some birthday pancakes last night before she went to bed."

* * *

"You'd love her, you know." Jade says, staring down at Cat's gravestone "She's such a special kid, Cat. And she looks just like you. Seriously, other than the curly hair, there isn't a hint of Robbie anywhere. And even then we could probably pass the hair off as only yours too. We took her to the zoo for the first time the other day and she loved it, honestly I don't think you could find a happier kid. Unless we try to get her to eat something green, then she'll throw a tantrum. Peas, green beans, broccoli...hates all of em. She's just like you."

Jade is dressed in a leather jacket and skinny jeans with a Dodgers hat and aviator sunglasses covering her face, much different from her day-to-day outfits she would be in on any other day. But she wants some time with her friend right now, and she doesn't need paparazzi recognizing her and messing that up.

"I uh-" Jade sniffs, pulling back the sleeve on her jacket to reveal her new tattoo wrapped in plastic "You would have been so mad at me for doing this, I know you think it's stupid when people get other people's names tattooed on themselves because it dooms whatever relationship they have...but how much more doomed could our friendship get? Don't roll your eyes, Cat."

She talks to Cat often, whenever she feels like she has something to say she says it, but being here at her grave makes her feel like Cat can hear her better. She takes off her sunglasses and wipes her tears with her sleeve before placing them back on her face, not wanting to risk revealing her identity.

"So much has happened this year that I wish I could have shared with you." Jade tells her "I...I got nominated for an Emmy. I didn't win, but I still got nominated. We're almost done with season three, I think we're going to try and get Beck in for a cameo in one of the last few episodes in the coming weeks. The writers are saying they might choose to end it after season four regardless of if we get renewed or not...which kinda sucks because that show has become like a second home and a second family...but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Tori and Andre are getting married next month, too. They've asked Val to be their flower girl, which is going to be _so_ cute assuming she figures out the whole walking thing. She can make it a step or two but that's about it, we're working on it though...I miss you, Cat. I'm rambling because I miss you and I don't know how to convey that. I'm angry and I'm sad and I'm scared still because life without you just fucking sucks. And I know you don't want me to miss you but I do. I wake up every single morning and come face to face with a little girl who has your eyes..."

Jade stops and takes a moment to collect herself. She doesn't want to be that crazy person screaming and crying to the dead as if they could actually respond to her.

"Alright, I'm okay now...I'm sorry." She sighs "I love you, okay? I always will. Beck is going to come by a little later and talk to you too. We didn't come at the same time because we thought it might tip off the paps, they've only gotten more invasive over the past year. When we wrap for the season and I'm home during the day I'll bring the baby out here and we'll have a picnic together, okay? Okay. I love you, Cat. Rest easy. We'll talk soon."

* * *

"They say that time is supposed to make it easier but it doesn't!" Jade sobs "I see her everywhere I look! I can't stop thinking about her."

It's well after midnight now and the anniversary has passed, but Jade still finds it difficult to sleep. Beck had groggily turned over and asked her if she was okay, and she had lost it. Now he's holding her in his arms while she cries, wishing that there was something that he could do to make her pain go away.

"Shhhh..." He rubs her back, trying to comfort her "It will get easier, it will."

"When?"

"I don't know." He admits "I wish I did."

"How am I supposed to explain to Valerie why I cry on her birthday every year?" Jade says with a shaky voice "Birthdays are supposed to be happy."

"Hey, we've talked about this, remember?" He reminds her "She'll know Cat. She'll know how important she was to you and how special she was."

"She won't understand that for years though."

"We'll figure it out." He assures her "We always do. I know it sucks. But you have me, okay? I'll always be here."

"I'm sorry." Jade apologizes "It's just so-"

"Hard." He finishes for her "I know, baby. I know."

"I feel like everywhere I look I'm reminded of her. And even if that reminder doesn't make me sad right that second...it's still there. And there's nothing I can do about it."

"Maybe it's time for a change of scenery then." Beck suggests

"What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe a fresh start would be good for all three of us." He clarifies "Get out of LA for a couple years and see how things go."

"I have a job, Beck. I can't just pick up and move somewhere else." She reminds him "And what about Tom and Julie? What about our parents?"

"I never said we had to go tomorrow." Beck says calmly "But think about it. There's just as many opportunities in New York as there are for us here, maybe even more. So maybe in a year or two, when the show wraps up...we look into maybe moving out there."

"We can't just take Valerie away from Tom and Julie like that, she's all they have left of Cat."

"We won't sell the house. We'll come back and visit, maybe for even a month or two at a time. But we have to try _something_, Jade. We have to start getting on with our lives. You said it yourself, there's so many reminders of Cat here...maybe trying to heal a bit away from those reminders might do all of us some good."

"Why are you so smart?" Jade groans, nuzzling her head into his neck "That actually sounds like a somewhat decent idea."

"Happy to help..." He sighs, kissing her temple "So you'll think about it?"

"I'll think about it." She promises him "But not until she show wraps."

"Fair enough." He nods "Try to get some sleep now, okay? I'll hold you just like this until you do."

"Alright." Jade smiles a bit, closing her eyes "I love you."

"I love you too."


	10. New York, New York

Beck and Jade keep the idea of moving to New York to themselves for quite a while, and they themselves don't even talk about it that much. In fact, Jade doesn't even bring it up again until about three months later when she is getting ready to return to work to film her show's fourth and, recently announced, final season.

She and Beck are in their bathroom, washing faces and brushing teeth to get ready for bed. Valerie, who has become much more of a handful since she figured out the whole walking thing, has been fast asleep for a few hours.

"Do you still think New York could be good for us?" Jade says to her husband as she hops up to sit on the countertop between the two sinks in their bathroom

Beck is caught a bit off guard, seeing as they hadn't spoken about the idea since Valerie's birthday. He gives his wife a questionable look as he spits out his toothpaste and wipes his mouth off with a towel.

"I do, yeah." He tells her "It doesn't have to be New York, necessarily. But I think career-wise it would be good for the two of us...either that or Toronto would be the next best option in terms of finding wor-"

"I'm not moving to Canada." Jade cuts him off "I refuse to live there and I refuse to raise Valerie there."

"I figured that would be your response." Beck chuckles "I just wanted to communicate that it doesn't have to be New York or nothing."

"I think New York would be nice..." Jade admits, crossing her ankles and staring down at her bare feet dangling over the edge of the counter "I...I loved being there when I was in college, and I think that would be something I would enjoy getting to share with Valerie as she gets older...and I dunno maybe I could try out a spot on Broadway."

"I think that's a great idea." Beck smiles, moving towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist

Jade had gotten her start in performing in musical theater when she was younger, it was actually where she met Cat when they were children. Beck knew that as much as Jade enjoyed being on television and in movies here and there, she would never turn down the opportunity to return to theater.

"You think?" She asks him, draping her arms around his neck and looking up at him "You don't think I'm out of practice?"

"You?" He scoffs "Never."

"Okay." She says quietly as she rests her forehead against his "Maybe I can talk to my agent about putting some feelers out there in the coming months."

"I'll do the same." He tells her

"People would kill each other for the chance to see you on Broadway, you know that don't you?" Jade smiles a bit "You should give it a try, maybe we could co-star."

"I don't think musical theater is for me." Beck chuckles "Maybe a Broadway play, but no musicals."

"Fine."

"So we're really going to do this?" He asks her "We're going to New York when the show wraps?"

"I guess we are." Jade nods "Yeah."

They have at least eight months before they have to really worry about it, she has an entire season of filming ahead of her after all. But saying it out loud and actually confirming it makes it feel all the more real. It causes a pit to form in Jade's stomach. Even though nothing is happening yet it still makes her uneasy to think about leaving behind the life she has become so accustomed to and familiar with, even if she is returning to a city that she knows rather well.

"It's the start of a new adventure for us." Beck reminds her "We love adventure, don't we?"

"Honestly...as long as I have you and Val...it doesn't matter where we end up." Jade tells him "Adventure or no adventure, I'll go anywhere with you."

* * *

"Why are you more nervous than me?" Jade laughs, looking over at her husband

Beck shifts uncomfortably in his seat next to her. Suddenly his tux feels too tight and the room feels too hot. He's so anxious he feels as if he could explode.

Jade had once again received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. The two of them are attending the ceremony together, having left Valerie at home with Jade's mom and step-dad, along with the rest of Jade's cast mates and their partners. The show is on commercial break right now, but when the broadcast returns they're going to announce the winner of Jade's category.

"I'm not nervous." Beck lies

"Yes you are." She smirks "You're squirming worse than Valerie when she wants out of her highchair."

"Alright, so I'm a little nervous." He admits "I just _really_ want you to win, baby."

"It's okay if I don't." She reminds him "It's an honor just to be nominated, remember?"

"Oh please, anyone who says that is lying." Beck rolls his eyes "Don't tell me you don't want to win."

"Of course I _want _to." Jade laughs "But it'll be okay if I don't."

He grabs her hand in his and laces their fingers together before pressing a kiss to the back of her palm, just as the show comes back from commercial.

Jade barely comprehend anything that is happening as the presenters walk out on stage and introduce the nominees. She's an actress, she may appear calm and collected to her husband, but on the inside she's a literal wreck. She may never return to TV, she may never get another shot at an Emmy. Of course it really is an honor to be nominated, but it would be an even bigger honor to actually win.

"And the Emmy goes to..."

"You're a winner in my eyes, no matter what." Beck whispers to Jade

"Thank you, baby." She smiles

"Jade West Oliver for Vitality!" The presenter announces happily

"Baby, you won!" Beck cups Jade's face in her hands and pulls her in for a kiss, and then another, and another

"Congratulations, Jade!" She feels her co-star's hand squeeze her shoulder as she breaks away from Beck and starts to make her way to the stage

Her head is spinning as she makes her way down the isle towards the stage, trying to collect her thoughts to make a coherent speech but also worrying about not tripping over her dress or stepping on anyone's feet or falling as she makes her way up the stairs. So much is happening in such a short amount of time, yet it all feels like its happening in slow motion.

"Woah, this is crazy. Thank you so much." Jade says into the microphone, grinning as the presenter places the statuette into her hands "There's so many people I want to thank but so little time so if I seem like I'm rambling, it's because I am. Uh, thank you to my mom and dad and my step-parents, you guys have been supporting me from the very beginning and I would not have had the opportunities to be where I am if it hadn't been for you guys, and I'll never be able to repay you for that. Thank you to my husband Beck for literally being my rock for over a decade now and always being my number one fan, no matter what. I love you. Thank you to my daughter Valerie, who is probably awake and watching this right now even though it's way past her bedtime, baby girl...you are the reason I get out of bed in the morning. You motivate me to be the best that I can be and to put the best of myself into everything that I do, Mommy loves you so SO much. Thank you to the entire crew and creative team who work on Vitality and who give me the opportunity to bring Natalie to life and to the fans who love her so much. She loves you back and so do I. Thank you to Chris McGuire for being the best on-screen fiancé I could ever ask for...and uh, thank you to my best friend Cat Valentine. You always believed that I would get here one day even when I didn't, and I know you're smiling down on me and saying 'I told you so', and I'll let you gloat because I know you were right."

Jade tears up as Cat's name leaves her mouth, but she knows that she can't allow herself to fully burst into an all-out sob without it becoming a headline in a matter of minutes.

"And to every little girl out there watching, who is dreaming of being up here on this stage...never stop dreaming. Never let that fire burn out, never stop working, and never EVER let anyone tell you that you can't make it...because I'm telling you right now that you can." Jade finishes as the transition music starts to play "Thank you so much again, have a good night everyone."

* * *

"To Emmy award-winning actress, Jade West Oliver." Beck grins raising a glass of champagne in a toast to his wife "May this be the first of many."

"Thank you, baby." Jade smiles, pressing a kiss to his lips

"To Mah-me!" Valerie exclaims, raising her sippy cup to mimic all of the other adults in the room

Jade had an early call time on the morning following the awards ceremony, so although Beck had rewarded her privately when they got home that night...there hadn't been much time for celebration. Now on the following Sunday, the two of them along with all of their parents, Tom and Julie, Caleb, and Valerie, of course, were gathered in the couple's home for a small get together of their own.

"Alright you..." Beck chuckles, scooping Valerie up in his arms "You got to say hi to everyone for a while, but it's past your bedtime."

"Goodnight, baby girl." Jade smiles as she kisses the toddler on the cheek "Sweet dreams, I love you."

"I luh you, mah-me." The toddler responds, earning a chorus of 'aw's from everyone in the room

"Can you say goodnight to everybody else?" Beck asks her

"Night night!" Valerie waves to the rest of the adults

Beck allows Valerie to move from lap to lap of everyone in the room, giving hugs and kisses, before carrying her out of the room and upstairs to put her to bed.

"That's one great kid." Jade's father, John, says as Beck leaves

"Yeah she sure is." Jade agrees

Everyone makes small talk while they wait for Beck to return, some about Valerie but most about Jade's award. How it should technically be her second and that she had been snubbed the year before when she lost out to an actress from a rival network, how they better keep the statuette out of reach or Valerie will claim it as her own, and how there would be many more wins in her future. It's finally Caleb to who speaks up and asks the question that Jade knows will lead to the conversation she's been dreading having with their families for weeks now...

"So have you given any thought to what your next project is going to be?" He asks her "I mean, you said the show is ending after this season, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Jade nods "Which sucks because I love it so much and I love my cast...but I'd rather give it a proper ending like they're planning to than keep making more episodes and have it get canceled out of nowhere because people lost interest."

"I personally don't think I'll ever lose interest." Julie admits "It's my favorite show on TV right now."

"I appreciate that." Jade laughs, taking another sip of her champagne "But I think you're a bit biased."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So seriously, honey. Have you given any thought to what you want to do next?" Jade's mother asks her "Maybe another TV show?"

"I uh..." Jade hesitates "I have a pretty good idea of what I _want_ to do, there's just some external factors we need to take into consideration."

"Like?"

"We should wait for Beck before I clarify that."

"Oh my gosh..." Beck's mother gasps "Are you pregnant?"

"No!" Jade is quick to answer "No no no...that's a ways away for us still."

"What is?" Beck asks as he re-enters the room

"Another kid."

"Oh yeah no." Beck shakes his head "One day for sure, but not right now. Unless Jade knows something I don't."

"I certainly do not." She assures him "But I did mention there's some external factors we need to take into consideration before I pick my next project."

"Ah." He nods "Right, the external factors. Well...we should just come out and be honest about it, don't you agree?"

"I do."

"Jade and I are considering moving to New York." Beck announces, taking Jade's hand and lacing their fingers together "We've talked it over a few times now, and we agree that a change of scenery away from LA would be good for all _three_ of us. Plus, it would provide us with a whole new set of opportunities."

"Obviously not right now." Jade adds "The show doesn't wrap filming until end of April or early May depending on production...but in a few weeks my agent is going to put some feelers out to casting agents out there and see if there's any roles for me on Broadway next fall."

"Oh that would be great for you." Jade's mother seems happy, much to the surprise of Beck and Jade

"You think?"

"Of course." Her step-father agrees "You _loved_ being there in college. And you've always said that you'd want to get back on stage one day."

"I really would like to, yeah."

"What about you, Beck?"

"I'll put my feelers out too." Beck responds "There's always a movie or a TV show filming in New York."

"Tom? Julie?" Jade turns to Cat's parents "Would you be okay with that?"

"Why are you asking our permission?" Tom laughs "You're grown-ass adults."

"I mean...Valerie would be on the other side of the country."

"Caleb was hoping from country to country for almost ten years." Julie reminds her "I'm not going to tell you that you can't take a certain opportunity just because we won't see Valerie as often. It was inevitable, she's going to be starting school in a few years anyway. Just promise that you'll be bringing her back to visit."

"Oh my gosh, of course." Jade promises "Birthdays, holidays, as often as we can without throwing her schedule completely off."

"Do what's best for your family." Julie tells them "But it means the world that you would even consider asking us for permission."

Beck and Jade glance at one another and share a smile, knowing that they could set their plan fully in motion now.

"I guess we're doing this then." He laughs

"Yeah, I guess we are."


	11. Ghosts

Within weeks of Jade's agent sending out the word that she was considering spending some time on Broadway, dozens of offers for multiple roles poured in for her. Most of them were flat out offering her parts, no audition required.

Jade could barely believe it. These were rolls that her teenage self had only dreamed about, and now she had to figure out which ones to turn down. Beck wasn't surprised, though. There was never a doubt in his mind that something like this would happen. His wife was simply just too talented, and thankfully the industry recognized that.

He helps her narrow down her options. They agree that maybe the female leads from The Sound of Music and Little Shop of Horrors aren't quite her forte, but there are plenty of others that are quite real contenders. Finally she has it narrowed down to either Velma in Chicago or Elphaba in Wicked, and she's strongly considering picking Velma.

"That's surprising." Beck says, raising an eyebrow at her

"Why?" She asks him "I think I'm pretty well-suited for the part?"

"Oh, I'm not denying that you are." He assures her "It's just...you and Cat always talked about being Elphaba and Glinda one day."

"And she's not here to do that with me anymore, so I feel like it wouldn't be fair to her."

"Do you really think she would agree with you on that one?" Beck sighs "Like really, truly, honestly...do you think she would tell you to take Velma?"

"No...she'd beg me to take Elphaba." Jade looks down at her hands "And then she'd buy a ticket to every show throughout my run."

"Exactly." Beck agrees "So why the hell would you take Velma?"

"Because it feels wrong!"

"How?"

"Because she isn't here to beg me to take it and she's not here to buy a ticket to every show and it isn't fair!" Jade exclaims "Wicked was her favorite...she would hate that she had to miss out on that."

"I think she'd hate it even more if she knew she was the reason you chose not to take the role." Beck admits "I'm not trying to push you into something you don't think you're ready for...but I think she'd be really fucking proud of you if you pick Elphaba."

"Shit..." Jade buries her head in her hands "I _really_ want to be Elphaba."

"Then take Elphaba."

"I don't know if I can get up there and sing those songs eight times a week without crying, knowing that she'll never get the chance to hear me do it."

"She'll hear you." Beck says

He reaches out and loops his finger around her necklace chain, pulling the gold star charm out from underneath her shirt so that she can see it.

"She's always with you, remember?" He reminds her

Jade grabs the charm in her fingers, pressing it to her chin as she contemplates what her husband is saying to her. She knows that se didn't get to where she is in her career right now by playing it safe, and Velma is safe. She would be comfortable in that role, and it wouldn't get her anywhere. Plus, she _really_ wants the chance to play Elphaba, and knows the opportunity might not come around ever again. If anything, maybe it could help bring her some closure too.

"Alright." She nods "I'm going to call my agent."

"Which one are you taking?" Beck asks her as she stands up to grab her phone

"Which one do you think?"

* * *

The small family adapts to living in New York City as if all three of them have lived there their whole lives, when in reality only Jade had ever had a permanent address there before. The city is huge and everyone is always on the go and as long as they dress down and wear some kind of hat and/or sunglasses, Beck and jade can usually walk around in the general public undetected.

They buy a townhouse in Tribeca, just a few blocks from the Hudson River. There's five bedrooms and a terrance, plenty of room for Valerie to grow, for people to visit, and for them to add to their family should they ever decide that they want to. Work is only a fifteen minute subway ride away for Jade, and she's able to come and go easily. She loves bringing Valerie to rehearsals with her, when it's appropriate, although the little girl was quite spooked the first time she saw her mother in the green makeup. Thankfully, she warmed up as soon as she realized it was only pretend.

Beck flies everyone out for Jade's first performance, literally everyone. Both sets of her parents, his parents, Tom and Julie, Caleb, and even Tori and Andre are in attendance. Jade holds it together better than she expected herself to for a majority of the performance, but as she sings 'For Good' to her onstage counterpart, the lyrics seem to hit her just a little too hard. She doesn't shed any tears, but her voice shakes in places. Her friends and family understand completely, while the rest of the audience just believes that she's extremely committed to the role. After the show, everyone comes backstage to congratulate her, and Jade wraps Tom and Julie up in a group hug before anyone else. The three of them stay like that for a long time, but then Jade hugs and greets everyone as if she hadn't been upset at all.

It all just feels so surreal to her, the fact that she's playing her dream role in a city she loves so much. And that everyone in her life is so supportive of her. Not to mention that she's already so accomplished in her career outside of Broadway, and that she has the most amazing husband and daughter by her side through all of it. She just really wishes Cat was around to share it with her.

Jade signs a contract saying that she'll play the role for a year, and she and Beck discuss the possibility of starting to try for a second baby when that contract is one month from being up. That time is still a long way off though, and Jade tries her best to live in the moment.

Beck doesn't work for the first few months they're in New York, mostly so that Valerie isn't totally thrown off by being in a completely new city with both of her parents being gone all the time. Three months or so in, however, Beck's agent calls him with the opportunity to star in the movie adaptation of a majorly popular young adult novel. Jade encourages him to take the part, assuring him that she and Valerie would be okay for the ten weeks he would be away, and within a week Beck is in Philadelphia and ready to start.

They make frequent FaceTime calls to one another, mainly so that they can keep up the regular communication that they're used to when Beck is home, but also so that Valerie can talk to her daddy. About a month or so into their time apart, Jade takes the weekend off from the show, allowing her understudy to step in, and brings Valerie with her to Philly to visit. Beck wishes that Jade hadn't taken the time off of work, knowing how much the role meant to her, but Jade reminded him that even the most dedicated actors need time off every now and then.

"Daddy!" Valerie exclaims as Jade sets her down, toddling across the hotel lobby towards Beck as fast as her small legs will carry her

She's approaching two and a half now, and still has the same head of crazy chocolate curls, big brown eyes, and her birth mother's adorable smile.

"Hi Val!" Beck picks the little girl up and hugs her tightly "Wow look at how big you've gotten! I missed you so much!"

Valerie smiles and nuzzles her face into Beck's shirt, hugging him tightly with her small arms.

"Did you miss me too?" Jade smirks as he wraps his spare arm that isn't holding Valerie around her waist

"More than you can imagine." He admits, greeting her with a kiss

"Oh, I think I can imagine."

"C'mon ladies." Beck nods towards the elevators "This way."

Jade grabs his hand and laces their fingers together as they walk, and kisses him again while they wait for an elevator to arrive. Valerie yawns and rests her head against Beck's shoulder, obviously excited from the trip. The arrow above the doors closest to them lights up, and they move towards it so that they can get upstairs and enjoy their family time as soon as possible. The doors open and Beck begins to step on, but collides with the person who is stepping off.

"Woah! Sorry about that." He apologizes "Wasn't watching where I was-"

"Oh god." Jade finishes his thought for him

The man getting off the elevator is older than the last time they saw him and his hair is a bit shorter...but both Beck and Jade would be able to recognize Robbie Shapiro anywhere.

"Beck." Robbie nods to him "Jade. It's been a few years."

"It certainly has." Jade says through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to slap the man clean across the face

"Jade, not here." Beck warns her, resting a protective hand on Valerie's back

The last thing they need is for one of them to make a scene and for the paparazzi to catch it all.

"Listen." Robbie begins "I know you probably hate me for what I did, and you should. But...can we talk?"

Jade says nothing but reaches out and shoves Robbie back into the elevator, stepping on as well. Beck is left with no choice but to follow them, and presses the button to take them up to his own floor.

"Is this your daughter?" Robbie asks them "How old is she?"

"She's..." Beck hesitates, looking to Jade as he realizes that Robbie is completely clueless "...two and a half."

The elevator doors open and they step off into the foyer, and Jade hands her and Valerie's overnight bag to Beck.

"Take her to the room, please." She tells her husband "It's been a long day, she probably needs a nap."

"Alright." Beck nods "Say goodnight to Mommy."

"G'night, Mommy." Valerie yawns "I luh you."

"I love you too." Jade smiles, pressing a kiss to her daughter's temple before Beck carries her down the hallway

"She seems like a sweet kid." Robbie remarks, watching Beck and Valerie disappear around the corner

"Alright, are you playing dumb or do you just live under a rock?" Jade snaps at him "What are you even doing here anyways?"

"Excuse me?" Robbie practically scoffs "I'm on a business trip. And I'm sorry I haven't kept up on you and Beck's personal lives, but _you're _the ones who froze me out."

"What choice did we have?"

"I know what I did to Cat was shitty, okay?" Robbie admits "But in the long run, I think it was better for both of us. I moved on, she moved on. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about her but I'm sure she's doing-"

"She's dead." Jade says flatly

"She's what?"

"Dead." Jade repeats, trying her best not to let Robbie see her cry "Car accident, about two and a half years ago."

"Wh..." Robbie hesitates, doing some calculations in his head "What about the baby?"

"Cat's baby?"

"Yeah."

"Beck just took her to take a nap." Jade nods in the direction her husband and daughter had just departed in

"You took the baby?"

"Without giving it a second thought." Jade tells him "Because unlike you, we loved her. And we would never ever dream of letting her go that easily. It was all over every tabloid for months afterwards, did you really not know?"

"No." Robbie admits "Honestly, every time I hear or see either one of your names I try to avoid it."

"Thanks for that." Jade rolls her eyes "Now if you'll excuse me I-"

"Jade, wait." Robbie grabs her arm "Can I-?"

"Meet her?" Jade cuts him off "Absolutely not. I'm not letting her anywhere near you."

"See a picture?" Robbie finishes his sentence

"You just saw her."

"Not well."

"Fine." Jade sighs, pressing the lock button on her phone so her screensaver of Valerie on her second birthday pops up "Here."

"She looks just like her."

"I know she does."

"What's her name?"

"Valerie."

"She always did love that name, didn't she?" Robbie smiles a bit as he looks at the picture "Did Cat know her?"

"No." Jade shakes her head, putting her phone back in her pocket "She lived just long enough to deliver her via emergency c-section, and then she was gone."

"I'm so sorry, Jade." Robbie reaches out to touch Jade's arm, which she quickly pulls away "I hope-"

"Do not tell me that you want to try and fight for custody now." Jade warns him "I'm a very wealthy person with access to lawyers that are better than you, and I have an envelope full of papers saying you didn't want any parental rights. I saved them. I can tell you exactly where they are right now."

"I hope it hasn't been a burden on you." Robbie finishes his original sentence "You know, cleaning up my mess."

"Not at all." Jade assures him "We love that kid more than anything, doesn't matter if she's biologically ours or not."

"I know." Robbie nods "I have a son, I know what that parental love is like."

"A son?"

"Yeah. Robbie Jr. RJ for short."

"How old?"

Robbie suddenly goes quiet, almost shrinking back into himself.

"Robbie. How old is your son?" Jade asks him again

"...about six months younger than Valerie."

"Oh my god!" Jade almost shrieks, turning to walk away from him

"Jade, wait!" Robbie tries to stop her

"What happened to not wanting to be tied down, huh?" Jade snaps at him

"Cat and I weren't right for each other, you know that."

"Doesn't mean you couldn't be there for your child! Oh my god, Robbie. Do you know what she went through, trying to do it all by herself? How awful it was for her?"

"She didn't have to!"

"But she chose to!" Jade reminds him "Because she loved Valerie and she wanted her! Unlike you. Who apparently wasn't ready but then ran off to another state and suddenly was."

"I love Shelia, okay? We're happy!" Robbie exclaims "I wasn't ready then, but the universe brought me to the right person and let me be a father when I was _really_ ready."

"Six months later..." Jade shakes her head "They were pregnant at the same time!"

"I realize that..."

"Fuck you, Robbie." Jade shakes her head, flipping him off before turning to walk towards Beck's hotel room "Don't try to contact me or my family ever again."

Robbie watches her disappear around the corner, feeling sad for her. Cat had been her very best friend, and losing her and then having to raise her daughter on top of that...well it couldn't have been easy. Her words hurt him, cut him pretty deep. But he knows in the long run, this is what was best for all of them. He turns and walks back towards the elevator, pressing the button to call it and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"Shapiro!" He hears a voice from around the corner

Beck comes into sight walking very quickly and looking rather angry.

"Beck, I-"

Robbie doesn't have time to get another word in before Beck's fist connects with his face, knocking him backwards and onto the ground.

"I deserved that." Robbie groans, pushing himself into a sitting position

"You sure did." Beck knocks him onto his back again and steps over him "You've hurt _so_ many people, I hope you realize that. But I'm not going to let you hurt _our_ daughter. Stay away from us."

"What if she wants to meet me, huh? When she's older? What if she has questions?"

"We can answer any questions that she might have, it won't be hard to explain to her why you abandoned her and Cat both." Beck sneers "And what Valerie does when she's eighteen is up to her. But until then, Jade and I decide what's best. And what's best for her is to be as far away from you as fucking possible."


	12. Our Daughter

The audience roars with applause as the doors to the time clock at the back of the stage slide open and both Jade and her co-star, Ava, run forward to take their final bows at curtain call. Tickets to this show in particular had been a hot commodity and sold for hundreds of dollars each. After all, it was Jade West Oliver's final performance as Elphaba after a year of playing the part, and the theater community could barely stand to see her go.

Jade stands to the side and allows Ava to take her bow, and when Ava motions for Jade to take hers, the applause inside the theater seem to multiply by almost a thousand. Both women look at each other and laugh, Jade because she thinks its absolutely ridiculous how much attention she's getting, and Ava because she thinks it's absurd that her co-star doesn't feel worthy of the praise she absolutely deserves. Ava was the third actress to play the Glinda to Jade's Elphaba and even though they had only spent about three months opposite of each other, she is amazed at just how much talent Jade possesses.

"Mom!" Jade hears a voice yell

She looks down to see Valerie at her feet, wrapping her small arms tightly around her legs.

"How'd you get out here?" Jade grins, picking Valerie up and resting her on her hip

"Look!" Valerie points off-stage

Jade turns to see Beck walking towards her with a very large bouquet of flowers in his arms with a huge smile plastered across his face. The presence of both Jade's husband and daughter earns a chorus of 'aw's and 'oh my god's from the already enthusiastic audience, but when Beck steps forward and presses a kiss to Jade's lips before placing the flowers in her free arm, everyone in the room loses their mind.

"I'm so proud of you!" Beck says to her loudly, trying his best to be heard over the noise

"What?" Jade laughs

"I said, I'm proud of you!" He repeats

Jade doesn't know how to respond, she's never been great at taking compliments from anyone, so she smiles and kisses him again. They both wave to the audience, and show Valerie how to as well. Eventually, the curtain begins to close and Jade's time as Elphaba officially comes to a close.

"That was really loud." Valerie remarks as Jade passes her back to Beck

"Yeah?" Jade chuckles "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Valerie shrugs "They just really like you."

"Mommy is pretty good at what she does, huh?" Beck asks the little girl

"Oh, she's _very_ good." Valerie agrees, causing both Beck and Jade to laugh

The three of them exit the stage and head back to Jade's dressing room. A few of her co-stars stop to hug her and congratulate her and say goodbye, and finally she's able to change and take off her green make-up. There's a bittersweet feeling in Jade's heart as they leave her dressing room and turn off the lights. She'll be back in the morning to collect all of her things , but never again will she sit in the makeup chair and transform into the character that had become almost a part of her.

They're met at the stage door with hundreds of fans and paparazzi just like every performance. Valerie hides her face in Beck's shoulder, as she's been instructed to do when she catches a stranger trying to take her picture, while Jade signs Playbills and takes pictures with as many people as she possibly can. Eventually though, she does have to leave. It's getting late and Valerie is up way past her bedtime, so security ushers all three of them into a waiting car and closes the door behind them.

"Where to guys?" Their driver asks them

"Home, please." Beck tells him, carefully placing Valerie into her carseat

"Sure thing."

It's about a fifteen minute drive to their home in Tribeca, just long enough for Valerie to fall fast asleep. Beck and Jade talk about the performance in hushed voices, careful not to wake her up. When they arrive home, Beck thanks the driver and runs ahead to unlock the door while Jade unbuckles Valerie from her carseat and carries her inside.

"Mommy?" She says groggily

"Shhhh..." Jade rubs her back gently "We're home now, it's time for bed."

"Okay..."

Valerie is barely conscious as Jade changes her out of the dress she had been wearing and into a pair of pajamas. The little girl crawls right into bed with no arguments, and Jade kneels down on the floor next to her bed to say goodnight.

"I love you, Valerie." She smiles, brushing her daughter's curls out of her face

"I love you too." Valerie yawns "See ya in the morning?"

"Of course." Jade assures her, pressing a kiss to her forehead before standing up "Sweet dreams."

She creeps out of Valerie's room quietly, closing the door behind her before making her way into the master bedroom to meet Beck.

"God, I'm so _tired_!" She exclaims, walking into her closet to shed her street clothes and change into a pair of pajamas

"I can imagine." Beck chuckles "It's a good tired though, right?"

"Definitely." Jade answers

By the time she's finished changing, he's already in bed. So she turns out the lights and climbs in next to him, laying on her side so the two of them are facing each other.

"You think you're going to miss it?" He asks her

"I will for sure." She sighs "But nothing lasts forever, right? It was time for me to go."

"Wasn't there a guy who played the phantom for like ten years?" Beck chuckles "If you want to stay, Jade. I'm sure they'd love to keep you."

"I'm sure they would." She rolls her eyes with a smile "But it's time to give someone else a turn. And it's time for me to move on to something else too."

"Oh yeah?" He raises an eyebrow at her

"Yeah."

"Tell me..." He smirks, wrapping an arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him "What's next for Jade West Oliver?"

"I think some time at home would be nice." Jade smiles as her husband kisses her neck

"I like that idea a lot."

"Me too." Jade laughs, grabbing her husband's hand "Hey Beck?"

"Hm?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" He's suddenly alert, a huge grin plastered across his face "Really?"

"Really." She nods "Six weeks."

"That's amazing!" Beck exclaims, pressing a kiss to her lips "We're going to have a baby!"

"Yeah we are."

"God, I love you so much." He tells her

"I love you too."

* * *

"Are you sure they're _both_ brothers?" Valerie sighs, resting her chin on Jade's stomach

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jade chuckles, running a hand through her daughter's hair to brush the curls out of her face "I'm sorry, baby."

"It's okay."

Jade and Beck lay on top of their bed with Valerie in between them. Jade's shirt is rolled up to her chest, exposing her stomach but still covering everything else. When they had gone to Jade's first doctor's appointment and found out they were actually expecting two babies instead of one, they had been a little scared at first but with time grew more and more excited about the idea of having three children. Valerie was excited too, she really wanted a little sister more than anything. She told Beck and Jade that she was hoping both babies would be girls, so she could have two sisters but if one of them had to be a boy 'then that would be okay too, I guess'.

They had been to the doctor's earlier that day and much to Valerie's dismay, her parents would be welcoming twin boys in a few months. Both Beck and Jade are thrilled though. Beck because after almost four years of being outnumbered he was finally going to have not one son but two, and Jade because she knows that being the only females in the house, at least for the time being, will only help her bond with Valerie grow that much stronger. She worries that if she were to have a daughter that is biologically hers, Valerie would feel as if she would love that daughter more than her, even though it certainly would not be the case. Besides, they've already had a baby girl, and she wants to experience what its like to raise a boy...or two boys, in their case.

"It won't be so bad, bug." Jade assures her daughter "Besides, when the babies come you and I are going to have to stick together, we'll be outnumbered."

"What does that mean?"

"It means there will be more boys in this house than girls." Beck explains "Mommy is going to need you, believe me."

"Yeah, I might go crazy." Jade chuckles

"Don't worry, Mommy." Valerie tells her "I got your back."

"Thank you, Val." Jade chuckles, kissing the top of her daughter's head "Oh! Here you go, put your hand right here."

Valerie had been waiting very patiently all evening to get to feel one of her brothers kick. She thought it felt weird but always loves when Jade gives her the opportunity to feel. It helps her solidify the fact that the babies are _actually_ there, even though she can't see them.

"That's weird!" Valerie shrieks, pulling her hand away

"Imagine how I feel." Jade chuckles, rolling her shirt down "They don't like to sleep much."

"It's because it's always dark in there." Beck whispers to Valerie, making her giggle "They get confused."

"Was I confused too?" Valerie asks "Did I sleep normal?"

"Uh..." Beck hesitates, looking to Jade

They knew this day would come eventually, it was only a matter of time. They're still not entirely sure how to address it either. But they know they can't just lie, that wouldn't be fair to anyone. They made a promise to Cat that they would be honest from the very beginning, that her daughter would know who she was.

"Y'know...kiddo, I'm not really sure." Jade tells her "You didn't grow in my belly, you grew in someone else's."

"Really?" Valerie scrunches her nose up "Why?"

"Do you want me to-"

"No, I can do it." Jade assures her husband "You see, Val...when I was a few years older than you, I met a very, very nice little girl named Caterina and-"

"Caterina is my middle name!"

"Yes it is. I'm getting there." Jade smiles "Caterina liked to be called Cat and-"

"Meow!"

"Aright Val." Beck pulls Valerie into his lap "Let's listen to Mommy tell her story okay, you can ask her questions when she's finished."

Jade mouths a quick 'thank you' to her husband before continuing her Valerie-friendly explanation.

"Cat was my very best friend for my _whole_ life. And one day...a few months after Daddy and I got married actually...Cat found out she had a baby in her tummy, just like I do. Except she only had one, not two. And she was _so excited_ to meet that baby, but there was an accident and she had to go to heaven before she could."

"Did the baby go to heaven too?" Valerie asks

"No." Jade shakes her head, brushing a tear away from her eyes "The baby was healthy and perfect and beautiful, she just didn't have anyone to take care of her...so me and Daddy said that we would, that we would take care of her."

"You're the baby, Val..." Beck adds quietly

"So...I didn't grow in your tummy?" Valerie asks after a few quiet moments "I grew in your friend's tummy?"

"That's right."

"But she went to heaven...so I never met her?"

"No, but I really wish you could have." Jade sighs "She would have _loved _you, and you would've loved her."

"Mommy, you're not going to go to heaven when my brothers are born, are you?" Valerie begins to cry "Because I don't want you too!"

"No no no, sweetie. No." Jade assures her "No, I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"Yeah, don't worry about that kiddo." Beck wraps his arms around the little girl and hugs her tightly "Like Mommy said, Cat was in an accident, that's why she went to heaven. Not because she had a baby."

"O-okay." Valerie stammers

"C'mere, baby." Jade opens her arms

Valerie crawls off of Beck's lap and into Jade's. Jade wraps her arms around the little girl and hugs her as tight as she can, kissing the top of her head softly. This isn't exactly how she had imagined having this conversation, but there's only so much she can say without confusing or frightening Valerie. They'll tell her more as she gets older, not just about how she was adopted but about how amazing her birth mother was as well.

"Listen to me, Valerie Caterina Oliver." Jade says softly to her "Daddy and I love you so _so_ much, it doesn't matter if you grew in my tummy or not. You are _our_ baby girl, and nothing is going to change that ever. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Valerie sniffles "I understand."

"Don't leave me out!" Beck exclaims as he crawls across the bed, wrapping both his wife and daughter up in a tight hug "I want some love too."

"Oh, so much love!" Jade laughs "Are you okay, bug?"

"I'm okay." Valerie nods "Thank you for taking care of me."

"Thank you for letting us." Beck tells her "We love you."

"I love you too." Valerie smiles "Can we watch Moana now?"

"Yes." Jade laughs, looking from Valerie to Beck "Of course."


	13. Epilogue: Sunshine

"Boys!" Jade hisses in a harsh whisper "This is a serious occasion! Do _not_ make me separate you."

"He started it!"

"I'm finishing it." Beck announces, stepping in between his twin sons "Cut it out and listen, please. You need to be respectful"

Now at twelve years old, Levi Jonathan Oliver and Roman James Oliver were proving themselves to be quite the handful. Their first names were names that Beck and Jade loved, and their middle names were those of their maternal and paternal grandfathers, respectively. They look just like their father, but definitely take after their mother and her feisty attitude.

Shortly after the twins were born, Jade once again began working on the manuscript she had been writing before Cat died. It took her another year to finish, but eventually became a play titled 'Critical Catastrophe', about a young woman who loses everything but rises to the occasion and finds a way to lead a happy and successful life despite everything that she's gone through. It won her a Tony for Best Direction of a Play, not to mention the award for Best Play that year too. In the years following, both Beck and Jade were casted as the leads in a New York based television legal drama, in which they play managing partners of rival law firms who fall in love and create the most kick-ass law firm in the entire country. The show is currently in it's eighth season and doesn't show any sign of slowing down any time soon.

"Julie Valentine, go onward from this world..." The pastor in front of the group they are standing in says " You are carried gently by the greater hands who made you. We stand here hearts torn open in love and loss. As we let you go now, born into a deeper understanding, just as the dark earth, opened now beneath the sky, will soon close its safe arms around you. And you will become part of a greater embrace. Everything pulled apart now will be brought back together. Everything aching and hurt will be comforted and soothed. Everything in chaos will find beauty and rest. All shall be healed. All shall be healed."

"I'm really going to miss Grandma Julie." Levi says as they begin to move forward

"Yeah." Roman agrees "She always made the best food when we visited her."

"She's with Grandpa Tom now." Beck reminds them "And she isn't sick anymore."

"Do you think she'll miss us too though?" Levi asks

"I know she will." Beck tells them

They move towards the open grave and each of them drops a rose on top of Julie's casket. It had been thyroid cancer that finally did her in, despite losing her daughter and her husband in the years prior. Jade spots Caleb standing off to the side, and moves away from her family to go and talk to him.

"You know you're always welcome in New York." She tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder "We still have that extra room."

"Thanks." Caleb sniffs, looking down at his feet "I think I'm going to go back to traveling though, at least for the time being. I mean...the only thing really keeping me here was my parents and well...they're gone now."

"I'm sorry, Caleb."

"They're not suffering anymore. That's what's important."

"Keep in touch, okay?" Jade opens her arms to hug him "You're family and we care about you. And I need to know where to send Christmas cards."

"Thanks, Jade." He manages to laugh "That means a lot."

They say their goodbyes and Caleb goes to talk to some of his other family members, while Jade makes her way back towards Beck who is standing with her mom and stepdad and the twins. The weather is overcast and is making the sad occasion even more sad, she's ready to get back to their house and start preparing to fly home to New York the following morning so the kids can get back to school.

"He okay?" Beck asks

"He will be." Jade nods "I think following his wanderlust again will actually do him some good."

"That's what Julie and Tom would want him to do." Jade's mother agrees "They'd want him to be happy."

"You're right." Jade sighs "Are you guys ready to go? Where's Val?"

"Huh?" Beck looks around, only then noticing that his oldest child is missing from their group "Wait, she was just here."

"Jade." Her step-father points somewhere behind her

She turns around and follows his point, and see's her daughter standing in front of a headstone in the row behind Tom and Julie's.

"Hm..." Jade hums

"We can take the boys back with us if you two want to go talk to her." Her mother offers

"Thanks, Mom." She thanks her "Boys, go with Grandma and Papa, okay? Dad and I will meet you a little later."

Jade grabs Beck's hand and the two of them start walking towards Valerie. The now sixteen year-old girl is standing in front of Cat Valentine's grave with her hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets and a sad expression on her face. Beck walks up and wraps an arm around her shoulders, and Jade loops an arm around hers.

"This is my birth mom?" Valerie asks them

At this point, she knew Cat's full name and what she looked like. She knew that Grandma Julie and Grandpa Tom were Cat's parents and that they had been the ones who gave her parents permission to adopt her. Her Uncle Caleb is her biological uncle, and he's her mother's brother. As she got older, she only had more and more questions, and Beck and Jade answered every one, even when the answers made her a bit upset. When she found out about Robbie and what he had done, she sobbed for an hour and cursed his name through her tears. Jade had cried too, holding her daughter in her arms and wishing that she could make it better.

"Yeah." Jade says quietly "This is her."

"It's weird to see my birthday on there." Valerie sighs "I know it's the day she died...I've just never seen it in front of me like this."

"Do you want to ask us anything?" Beck offers "Your brothers aren't around, they won't make it weird."

"Yeah, uh..." Valerie hesitates "If...if the doctors hadn't given her a c-section and pulled me out...could they have saved her? Like was there anyway someone could have picked to save her instead of me?"

"No." Jade admits "Sweetie, her body had started to give out long before she got to the hospital, she lost so much blood. If they had tried to save her first, they probably would have lost you both."

"So, I didn't kill her?"

"No, kiddo. The asshole who ran the red light did." Beck assures her "Her being pregnant had nothing to do with it."

"Can you tell me about her?" Valerie asks, playing with her necklace

It's the same necklace that Cat had given Jade when she asked her to be Valerie's godmother, the gold ring on the gold chain. Jade had kept it and gave it to Valerie when she turned twelve, that way she could always have a piece of her birth mother with her. She's worn it every day since.

"Of course." Jade nods "She was a better singer than I was-"

"Mom, that's not true."

"Oh but it is." Jade laughs, brushing away a tear "I swear, if she had just been given a little more time, she would be the best-selling artist in history by now. And she loved red velvet cupcakes, just like you do. And she was happy all the time, she could find the good in anything."

"What was her favorite movie?"

"Singin' in the Rain." Jade smiles "It wasn't really _my_ favorite, but I've seen it so many times just because it was her favorite."

"I like that movie too." Valerie smiles a little bit "She had good taste."

"She certainly did."

"I wish I could talk to her...like, have a conversation." Valerie admits "Just for five minutes."

"I wish you could too, baby." Jade wraps her daughter up in a hug "You'd love each other, I know you would."

"It makes me feel better to know that she didn't choose to give me up, like she wanted me. Didn't she?"

"More than anything else in the world." Beck nods

"Yeah." Jade agrees "From the moment she found out she was pregnant, you're all she could think and talk about."

"Can I see your tattoo, Mom?"

"Of course."

Jade pulls back the sleeve of her coat to reveal the tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. The tattoo has faded some with time, but it's still very clear. The 'Love Cat' is still there to remind her of her best friend every single day. Valerie looks from the tattoo to the headstone, then back to the tattoo and back to the headstone.

"Do you still have the note you got this from?" Valerie asks

"Yeah." Jade tells her "It's in my desk back in New York."

"Maybe when I'm eighteen, I can get a tattoo like this?" Valerie suggests "I like having the necklace, but this would be more permanent. Her handwriting and everything..."

"When you're eighteen, if that's what you want to do...then by all means do it." Beck nods "Are you ready to go, or do you want to stay?"

"I think I'm good..." Valerie nods, moving closer to the headstone

She kneels down in front of it and kisses her hand, then presses it to Cat's name.

"I love you, Mom." She says quietly "Thanks for looking out for me."

The girl stands up and returns to her parents, who each wrap an arm around her as they walk back to their car that's parked on the main road. As they turn their backs to the headstone, the clouds part a little bit and allow a ray of sunshine to slip through. Only Jade notices and as Beck and Valerie start to climb into the car, she turns back to look at Cat's headstone once again before looking up at the ray of sunshine.

"I know you're there, Cat." She smiles up at the sky "Thanks for looking out for us. We love you."

* * *

**And this is where the story ends, or at least the part of the story that I chose to write. Thank you so much to everyone who has read and left reviews and sent PMs! It's meant so much to have your support in writing my first story. I have another story that I'm working on, and it will probably be longer than this one. I'm hoping to have it posted in the next week or so. Take care everyone and thanks again!**


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